And Life Goes On
by StarvingLunatic
Summary: This is the sequel to Sealed with a Kiss. Bonnie and Kim are trying to build a relationship during their junior year of high school. Bonnie's changing, trying to be a better person, wanting to be a good girlfriend. Kim's doing her best to be a good girlfriend as well. Unfortunately, life keeps getting in the way. KiBo.
1. The First Day of the Rest…

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

A/N: This is the long-time coming sequel to Sealed with a Kiss. I would suggest you read that if you want to see how Kim and Bonnie got together because this story picks right up where that story left off.

This story shows the gradually, growing relationship between two females. If this bothers you, well, read on if you like reading things that bother you.

A/N the second: This story is mostly told through Bonnie's POV, which is not something I like to do for a romance story because I feel like since that involves two people, we should see both of their POVs. But, this is also a story exploring Bonnie's character, so we see things mostly through her eyes to get an idea of how she's changing. At the end of each chapter, we'll get a little glimpse of Kim's POV.

I would like to think MagicalInsanity for beta'ing this tale. Well, I hope you enjoy it.

And Life Goes On

1: The First Day of the Rest…

Bonnie watched from a distance as Kim spoke to Josh Mankey in the hallway of Middleton High. Josh was Kim's boyfriend, but if things went well, he would certainly lose the title by the end of the conversation. Of course, as the discussion went on for a few seconds, he did not look like he lost anything. And he even kissed Kim on the cheek before he walked away, not even a minute into the talk. Bonnie marched over, trying her best not to scowl.

"What the hell just happened?" Bonnie huffed, doing her best not to raise her voice. She did not want to attract any unwanted attention from the idiots wandering the hall who did not know how to mind their business.

"Uh… He had to go to a club meeting," Kim said, scratching her head. She had the nerve to look confused, face scrunched up like she did not know what just happened.

Bonnie blinked. "Since when he a part of any club?" A scowl worked its way onto her face as she called his bluff mentally. _Does he know what Kim wants or is he just brushing her off because he's so cool and he doesn't think Kim's important? Does he think he can just treat Kim however the hell he wants? Ass_.

Kim shrugged. "That's just it, I don't know."

"Is it just one of his little projects?" Bonnie rubbed her chin for a moment and then shook it off. "No, that's not even important. Did you tell him?" That was the only thing that mattered at that point.

Bonnie did not dare not say aloud what Kim was supposed to tell him, even if she was trying to watch her volume. Someone might hear and while she did not care who Josh heard the news from, she knew Kim wanted to do things "the right way." Mentally, Bonnie scoffed. _To Hell with the right way. What about the way that gets things done?_

The voice in her head laughed. _Come on, we both know Kim wanting to do things "the right way" turns you on_. Bonnie shook that thought away. At the end of the day, it did not matter what turned her on if Kim was still in a relationship.

Kim shook her head. "No, I didn't get the chance to tell him."

Bonnie growled and gave Kim a hard look. "What do you mean?" she demanded in a low tone.

Kim looked at her with these big, pleading eyes. "I started to tell him and then he just chimed in with having to go do something."

Bonnie's jaw tensed to the point she thought she might break her back teeth. She took a breath. This was not Kim's fault. It was that idiot Mankey.

"Just try to talk to him today, okay?" Bonnie said. She was about to threaten, "or else there'll be no more kissing," but that much was implied and it was just as much a punishment for her as it was for Kim. She just had to trust Kim to handle this.

Kim nodded. "I will. We should get to class."

Bonnie scoffed. "I guess." She really just wanted to find Mankey and tell him to stay away from Kim, but that would not help much.

Kim gave her a nervous smile. "Coming over later?"

"Well, we still do have to finish the stupid Grapes of Wrath, right?" She really needed to talk Kim into reading the Sparknotes.

Kim smiled and Bonnie really just wanted to gather her in her arms and kiss her senseless, but they were at school and Kim had not broken up with Josh yet. Both equally good reasons to not plant one on the hero.

So, Bonnie marched off to class, trying her best not to be frustrated. Of course, since fury was a basic component of her DNA, it was a little hard not to be pissed off. Who the hell did Mankey think he was? Kim was hers. _Jealous tantrum already? You're not even dating,_ _ **yet**_ _._

Bonnie groaned. She really did not have the patience for the voice in her head right now. Besides, shouldn't that thing be gone by now? After all, she accepted her feelings for Kim and acted upon them. What more could it possibly want from her? _You forget, Bonnie. I'm part of you. I'm not going anywhere_.

Great. Just when she thought she would at least get her sanity back, she got to find out — nope, still certifiable. Plus, Kim was still technically going out with Mankey. It was proving to be crappy day that did not get any better.

-8-8-8-8-

"Bonnie, are you sure you don't just want to go home?" Kim asked as she helped Bonnie walk down the street.

During cheer practice, someone who would remain nameless — _Jessica_ — could not hold up her end of the pyramid. She fell and it all came tumbling down… with Bonnie at the top. She landed on her foot and twisted her ankle, which continued to throb. Jessica would pay, as soon as Bonnie could walk again. Jessica would feel ten times the agony she felt now!

"No, I don't 'just want to go home,'" Bonnie hissed, glaring at Kim for even suggesting something so idiotic. "We have to keep reading that stupid book. I'd never do it without you breathing down my neck." Mostly because if Bonnie went home, Connie and Lonnie would be waiting for her. For adults, one of whom was in college and the other in beauty school, they spent a lot of time at home, making fun of their baby sister. They should either get boyfriends (or girlfriends) _or_ jobs. _I'll have to remember that the next time they start into me_.

"Well, hopefully my mom will be home and she can look at this for you," Kim offered.

Bonnie would take that. Better Kim's mom fussing over than her own. Her mother would act like she broke her leg, which would only serve to irritate the whole house. Added to that, her father would explode about her mother babying her, which she would agree with, and her sisters would feed the fury. It would turn into some kind of angry, anxious, crazytown. Who needed that kind of stress? Besides, what if Kim wanted to come in just to make sure she was all right? That would be even more stress.

Beyond that, she had already told her mother she would be spending the afternoon with a friend. If she changed that plan, her mother would have a million questions about it. That was just a headache waiting. No, sir, she did not want any part of _that_.

So, they ended up at Kim's house. Kim helped her to the couch and then went to see if her mother was in the house. Bonnie sighed and rubbed her ankle a little, which just made her wince. _Okay, best not to touch it. Just wait for the actual doctor to look at it_. With the way her day was going, the twins were probably the only ones in the house and they would want to attach rockets to her ankles.

"Bonnie, Kim tells me you had an accident," Mrs. Possible said as she entered the living room.

"Did she also tell you tomorrow we're voting _someone_ off the cheer squad?" Bonnie huffed, folding her arms across her chest.

"We're not voting Jessica off because of an accident!" Kim called. It sounded like she was in the kitchen.

Mrs. Possible chuckled and kneeled down, taking Bonnie's injured foot in her hand. Apparently, Kim had filled her in on the whole matter. Mrs. Possible eased Bonnie's shoe off, causing her to wince.

"And here it is, I always thought Kim would be the only girl I had to tend to in the living room," Mrs. Possible remarked with a warm smile.

Bonnie was not sure what to say and would rather stay in good standings with this woman, so wisely kept her mouth shut. After all, she tended to snap and bite when she did not know what to do. She had to hold in a curse as Mrs. Possible slightly moved her foot. A sharp hiss managed to escape and for a second, she glared at the older woman.

"Hmm…" The doctor made a noise. "It seems sprained, but I would rather take an x-ray to make sure."

"No, no, no," Bonnie begged, feeling the color drain from her face. Her stomach twisted a little. An x-ray meant the hospital, which meant her parents would have to be notified.

Mrs. Possible made a noise, but continued to exam Bonnie's foot and ankle. The ankle was swollen, even Bonnie could tell that. Having had the misfortune of breaking a bone before, she could tell from the pain, or lack there of, nothing was broken. She just hoped Mrs. Possible came to the same conclusion.

"This will need dressing and ice," Mrs. Possible decided with a nod.

"As long as I don't have to go to the hospital," Bonnie said, trying her best not to sound too anxious. She eyed Mrs. Possible, watching every move she made.

"I can do it all here. No worries. Kimmie," Mrs. Possible called, glancing in the direction of the kitchen.

"I got everything, Mom."

Kim came over with a bunch of supplies and a bag of ice. Mrs. Possible worked quickly, putting some kind of ointment on Bonnie's hurt ankle and then she wrapped it with a compression bandage. Bonnie thought that was the end, but then Kim wrapped the bag of ice around Bonnie's ankle. Bonnie hissed and pulled back a little as the cold shot through her. Smiling at her, Kim moved the ice and then pressed it down slowly.

"I got it from here, Mom," Kim replied, taking a couple of the throw pillows from the couch. She placed one under the injured foot, elevating it slightly.

"Bonnie, maybe you should go home. You should rest that ankle," Mrs. Possible instructed her.

Bonnie shook her head, being mindful not to look too terrified by the suggestion. "No, thank you. I have homework and I'll definitely finish it faster with Kim's help." Not to mention, she would be able to relax and rest the ankle without having to hear from rowdy family members.

"I've got it, Mom," Kim repeated and then she gave her mother a bit of a sheepish look. "But… um… Could you maybe give Bonnie a ride home later? She shouldn't walk on the ankle, right?"

Mrs. Possible laughed, lighting up her sky blue eyes. "Of course. I would never let a patient of mine suffer." She offered Bonnie a soft smile, which made Bonnie feel better already. She then turned, disappearing back into a small office space she had.

Bonnie sighed. "Thanks for that. But, now, how the heck am I supposed to get upstairs?" She had no desire to sit on the sofa her whole time here. They could not do what they usually did here. The twins would be all in their business.

Kim grinned. "I could carry, you know," she proposed.

Kim had made the same offer after cheer practice. Bonnie had glared her down so hard that a verbal reply was unnecessary. Bonnie was not an invalid and she did not want to be seen as such. Never mind the fact that Kim had to help her walk all the way to the house, but being carried was well beyond help.

"You don't need to," Bonnie argued. She should be able to hobble upstairs. It was just a sprained ankle. _Yeah, which is why it was so easy to walk here, right?_

"No one will see and you're not heavy," Kim replied with a shrug.

"You just want to show off." Part of her was tempted to see if Kim could do it. She had plenty of boyfriends who could lift her. Could Kim really do the same? Probably. She could do anything, but should she do it?

Kim just smiled. She hardly needed a reason to show off and she picked Bonnie up before Bonnie could say anything. Bonnie yelped. She had no doubt Kim could pick her up, but having it done was something else. Her arms automatically went around Kim's neck and she could feel a blush burning her cheeks. Kim grinned again and she made sure to scowl in return, not wanting Kim to know she affected her so easily.

"I got you," Kim said softly to her ear.

"I know," Bonnie whispered. _Oh, yeah, she's got you in every way possible_. It was a little embarrassing.

Kim had no problem carrying Bonnie from the living room and up to her room either. When they got inside, Kim did not put her down. She held Bonnie closer and Bonnie could feel Kim's heartbeat against her. Bonnie looked Kim in the eye.

"I really want to kiss you right now," Kim admitted in a low, tender tone. Her eyes conveyed the same message.

Bonnie wanted to tell her that she could, that she never needed to ask, but there was a more pressing matter. "So, you broke up with Mankey then?" She probably could have said that a little nicer, but too late now.

"Uh…" A red flush overcame Kim's face as she looked away.

"Kim," Bonnie hissed.

"He dodged me the whole day! Every time I had a second with him, he ran off for some project or another!" Kim pouted, which almost made Bonnie want to forgive her.

Bonnie growled, low in her throat. "Put me down, Possible."

"Bonnie…" Kim's mouth moved, but nothing came out. She had nothing to say, even though she tried.

" _Down_ ," she ordered, pointing to the floor.

Sighing, Kim did as commanded. Bonnie limped to the bed, frowning all the way. How could Kim do this to her? How could Kim play with her like this? Maybe… maybe…

"Do you really want to date me?" Bonnie asked in a low voice. There was a little crack in the question. She swallowed down the sorrow that caused that sound. She felt so _vulnerable_ — she did not do vulnerable.

"Yes!" Kim answered without hesitation and with big, sincere olive eyes. "Bonnie, yes, I want to date you."

"Then, why haven't you broken up with Josh?" Bonnie's voice remained a whisper, eyes trained on the floor now. She searched the floor as if _it_ had the answers. It was very disappointing.

Sighing, Kim went and sat at her desk. Maybe she was giving Bonnie space and Bonnie appreciated that. She was upset with Kim and Kim was allowing her to be upset, but also trying to clear the air.

"He's ducking me, but I guess I'm not chasing him very hard, am I?" Kim asked, rubbing her forehead as she leaned against her desk.

Bonnie looked up with her, hoping her eyes did not seem as pleading as she knew they did. "But, you just said you want to date me and to do that, you have to break up with Josh."

Bonnie would not be some side chick. _I'm not that desperate!_ She ignored the scoff in the back of her mind. She was not that desperate, despite what the voice in her head thought.

"I will," Kim insisted, making a fist. "Bonnie, I really want to explore these feelings I have for you. I mean, when we kissed…" She trailed off and blushed all the way to the tips of her ears. "I've never felt like that before. I mean, I haven't kissed a lot of people, but…" she was rambling and it was _cute_.

"Then, why haven't you spoken to Josh yet? Are you afraid?" Bonnie asked. There was plenty to fear, but Kim was not usually the type. In fact, Bonnie was fairly certain Kim had been born lacking whatever it was that made people afraid of things.

Running her hand through her hair, Kim shook her head. "I'm not afraid. I don't know what I am. Maybe confused?" She squinted a bit, as if trying to figure out what she was.

"Confused about what?" Bonnie asked, even though she understood how all of this could be confusing.

"I'm not sure I can even put it into words. I mean, I liked Josh for _so_ long and then I finally get a chance to go out with him and then you come along and turned everything on it's ear. It's just… overwhelming, I guess." The redhead blew out a long breath and messed with her hair more. "So, now I wonder if maybe all of this is just due to these huge changes between us and maybe when things calm down, it'll be different. Does any of that make sense?"

Bonnie offered Kim a half-smile. "Only about half of it, if that. You're worried you're making the wrong choice."

"No. It just feels… weird? I dunno. Maybe I feel fickle." Kim scratched her head. "What if I'm actually just like this? I like someone until I get them and then my emotions shift to someone new. If that's the case, I'll hurt you and ruin our friendship and I really like being friends. Not to mention, life would be horrible dropping a partner as soon as someone new shows up. I don't _want_ that. I want to be with the person I want to be with and hold onto them."

"I've known you a long time, Kim Possible, and I don't think anyone would ever describe you as 'fickle.' You feel like you're losing something with Josh."

Sighing, Kim nodded. "I mean, I really do want to see where things go with you, Bonnie, but I pined for Josh for so long… I mean, like seriously, pined. You saw me making a fool out of myself all of that time. It seems like a waste to throw it all away."

Bonnie frowned and anger sparked in her belly. "You think you're throwing it away?" _Possible needs to work on her slogan because she damn sure can't make a girl feel good about herself right now_.

Groaning, Kim threw her hands up. "I'm not explaining this well. I don't know. I don't know." Another long sigh escaped her. "Maybe I _am_ scared," she muttered, glancing away.

"Bullshit," Bonnie said sharply.

Kim's head shot up and she blinked. "Huh?"

"That's bullshit and you know it. You don't get scared. You run off everyday to save the world and face serious homicidal maniacs and the wrath of Mother Nature and you don't even _flinch_. You don't bat an eye. Tell me the truth. Tell me how repulsed you are by the thought of me having feelings for you, but you simply don't want to hurt my feelings," Bonnie hissed, pointing to herself. Her heart pounded and her lungs burned as breathing became a little more difficult. She could feel tears burning behind her eyes.

"Bonnie…" Kim sighed and shook her head.

"Tell me how pathetic you think I am for pushing you to go out with me," Bonnie's voice rose and her chest hurt as her lungs tried to draw in more air.

"Bonnie," Kim began, a little more firmly that time.

"Tell me how stupid you think I am for all of this!" Bonnie shot up and bit back a wince. She was about to storm out of the room, out of the house, maybe out of Kim's life because she did not need this right now. She did not need to be the toy/joke of someone else who was important to her. She did not need pity or to be treated like she was made of glass either. She just wanted to be normal, _feel_ normal for once in her life.

"Bonnie!" Kim was out of her chair before Bonnie even took a step. She gathered Bonnie in her arms and pressed her close. "I don't think you're stupid or pathetic and I'm most definitely _not_ repulsed by you. You think I don't get scared? You clearly think highly of me, but I think highly of you, too. You're brave and driven and I'm awed by what you did."

Bonnie sniffled. It was too much — hearing those words, being held close to Kim, being part of Kim's world. She fell against Kim as tears poured out of her eyes. Kim held her up, held her tight.

"You're incredible, Bonnie. Right now, I'm not even half that. I don't know why I left things with Josh the way I did, but I do know I've never felt the way you made me feel. I don't know what to call it, but it's there. I felt more than a spark go through me when you kissed me and I want to experience that again," Kim said in a low voice, fingers absently dancing against the small of Bonnie's back.

"But?" Bonnie's voice cracked again. Her life had been a sum of _buts_ that left her expectant.

"There is no 'but.' I want to see where this is going with us and I need to work up the courage to break up with Josh. I don't want to hurt you and I'm still your friend no matter what, but I do want more," Kim promised.

Sniffling, Bonnie shook her head. "You're just saying that, just like last night."

Shaking her head, Kim pressed in a little closer, so their foreheads touched. "No, I'm not. I really do want to see where we could go and why I have these feelings when you kiss me and all of that good stuff. Like I said, I'm just a little scared. This is big. I mean, furiously _big_. Totally epic like big. Like when you wanted to be my friend."

Bonnie pulled back a little. "You were suspicious." Now, it was her turn to be, but then again, she was suspicious by nature. Everyone wanted something, everyone had an ulterior motive, and everyone could and would hurt her if she did not hurt them first.

"Before, but after I was scared. What if something happened and I lost your friendship again?" Kim pointed out. She looked positively stricken by the idea. Her olive eyes were wide, her eyebrows curled up, and bottom lip actually trembled. It helped Bonnie realize how serious Kim was.

Bonnie stared at Kim hard, needing her to completely believe her next words. "That'll never happen."

Sighing, Kim looked at her with watery eyes. Taking a deep breath, she licked her lips before words managed to leave her mouth. "But, it still makes me scared. Isn't that truly fear? Being unable to act over circumstances you know aren't real?" Her voice was so low.

Rolling her eyes, Bonnie snorted. "You a philosopher now, Possible?"

A small, rather uncomfortable half-smile settled on Kim's face. "I'm a mess is what I am and you made me this way. I'm not used to being a mess. But, I promise you that I'm just going to be _your_ mess. This thing with Josh will be over tomorrow, okay?"

"And?" Bonnie pressed, leaning forward a little and staring Kim down. She wanted more than just a breakup with Josh for all of her pain and suffering.

Running a hand through her hair, Kim laughed. "And… I'll take us on our first real date as a couple."

"Nothing cheap." For all of this, she deserved some fine dining.

Kim laughed even more. "Nothing cheap. But, a movie's okay, right?"

Bonnie turned her nose up with a sniff. "I'll think about it." She paused. "I get to pick."

"Of course."

"I… guess that's fine then."

Kim still smiled. "Let's get you back on the bed and we have a book to read."

"About that…"

With a smile still stuck on her face, Kim did her best to look intimidating. "No, we're not reading the Sparknotes. It's not that bad."

Bonnie rolled her eyes while Kim helped her back to the bed. The book really was not that bad, but she would rather spend her time talking with Kim than reading the book. They did their homework, sneaking glances at each other like they usually did. _Do you really think you can trust her to do it this time?_ Bonnie scoffed at the voice in her head. Kim was probably the only person on Earth she truly trusted.

-8-8-8-8-

The next day at school, Bonnie stood in the hallway with a crutch helping support her as she watched Kim from a distance. It was not that she did not trust Kim to do what she said, but rather she wanted to be there the moment Kim was single. It looked like Josh was about to walk away again, like whatever Kim had to say was not important, which upset Bonnie. Everything about Kim was important and valuable and time should be made for her. Mankey obviously did not share her opinion. _Which, I suppose, is good for me_.

Bonnie watched as Mankey's face fell and Kim gave him a shrug. She leaned in and kissed his cheek. Bonnie wondered if she could get away with slapping him on the same cheek later on. Maybe she could feign it was an accident, like she thought he goosed her or something like that. Before she got further into her plot, Kim was by her side and smiling at her.

"Are you all right?" Bonnie asked.

"I'm fine," Kim sort of mumbled. Obviously, "fine" was relative.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Bonnie inquired, glancing back at Mankey. Poor Josh was in shell-shock, still standing by his locker like he had no idea what just happened. She imagined he must be trying to figure out how he was not God's gift to women.

"There's nothing to talk about. I don't want to look back, only forward."

Bonnie laughed. That seemed very Kim-like, but she doubted it was that easy. Still, it was a nice sentiment and she would take it for now. After all, she got the girl, so she had everything to look forward to.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: … of Their Lives

Kim had to take a deep breath before approaching Josh. Her stomach sort of rolled, which was not something she was entirely familiar with. It had happened yesterday with Bonnie, too, though, when Bonnie thought Kim did not want to be with her. She had been afraid Bonnie would leave. But, Bonnie stayed and to show she was sincere Kim had to go break up with Josh to explore these strange emotions Bonnie evoked in her.

So, Kim marched up to Josh. She plastered a smile onto her face and he smiled back. Her stomach flipped and her steps almost faltered. _No, no, no. Don't fall for that smile. You want Bonnie to smile at you, so you have to get through this_.

"Hey, Kim," Josh said in his mellow voice that sort of floated through Kim even now.

Kim paused for a moment. It was a little disturbing that Josh still had such an effect on her, but even with a smooth voice, he had not sent the electric jolts through her that Bonnie managed with one kiss. He also did not make her feel the type of warmth Bonnie did from a simple touch.

"Hey, Josh," Kim replied. "So, I was hoping we could talk."

Josh chuckled. "Uh, can it wait, babe? I need to get to this thing," he insisted, just like he did yesterday.

"This is important," she replied.

"Yeah, but there's always later," he said and he was about to rush off. Kim grabbed him by the hand before he could go anywhere.

"No, there's not," she said, holding his hand tight and staring at him, so he understood.

"Uh… why is there not a later?" he asked, squinting a little. This was actually something annoying about him. He was always in a rush to go somewhere unless he had planned something.

"Because I need to talk now. You can't keep running off like that. This is very important," she said strongly, but in a low voice.

Josh rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled a little. "Uh… okay, what is it?"

"I'm sorry, Josh, but I think I want to take a break from dating," she said. This felt safe to say. She did not want to tell him she met someone else or somewhere along those lines because there would be questions. She did not want to answer any questions right now. She probably would not have any answers, anyway.

"Wait, what? You're breaking up with me?" he asked with wide eyes and his mouth just hung open. After a couple of seconds, his eyes narrowed until he was squinting, clearly trying to process the information.

"Well, yes. I want to focus on other things right now," she replied softly and discreetly glanced at Bonnie.

"Wha-wha-what does that mean?" he asked in disbelief. "You're breaking up with me?" he repeated, almost like he did not know he said that already.

"I'm sorry, Josh." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. She was sorry if she hurt his feelings, but not sorry for breaking up with him. Like she told Bonnie, she really wanted to explore these feelings. Now, she had a date to plan.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Kim's date idea.


	2. Starry Nights

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

2: Starry Nights

Bonnie went through her closet, passing dress upon dress, trying to decide on the perfect date outfit for her night out with Kim. She rolled her shoulders, feeling stiff, as she shifted clothing around, but nothing caught her eye. Nothing seemed dazzling enough to go out in. Not with Kim, anyway. It was hard to believe she had just done this last week. This seemed so hard now.

"How the hell did I do this last week?" Bonnie wondered aloud, rubbing her chin with her index and middle fingers.

She could not remember much of her first date with Kim, as amazing as it was. Her mind had been so set on making sure the night was magic for Kim, she had not been able to focus on much else. _Well, at least I showed her an awesome time_. Now, she needed to make sure she had an awesome time since Kim was the one planning the date.

"Why are so many of my outfits lame?" Bonnie muttered with a frown.

Of course, she knew the clothing was not the problem. She was nervous, as simple as that. Much more nervous than when she had been the one to plan the date. Actually, she had been determined then and there had not been room for this kind of anxiety. Right now, butterflies seemed to live in her stomach.

Nothing seemed good enough because she wanted to make sure Kim's attention was focused solely on _her_. Most of her clothing, Kim had seen already, except for her "date clothes." She frowned even more as she looked at what she considered "date clothes."

She had a slew of dresses, most of them revealing or form-fitting in just the right way… to keep a guy's attention. Typically, guys who were not hard to please. While she wanted attention from Kim, she was not sure if she wanted _that_ sort of attention. Or maybe she wanted _more_ than that type of attention. Either way, she felt like she needed something else. Something better.

"Although, anything might be better than this stuff," she huffed.

Resisting the temptation to just rip dresses down and throw everything on the bed, she flicked through her "date clothes" once more. Maybe she could combine a couple of things to make something worthwhile. She began piling things on her bed, trying to create something. Nothing seemed to go together, though.

"Maybe if I find out where she's taking me," Bonnie murmured.

If she knew where they were going, she might be able to coordinate with the setting or with the mood. She just needed something to work with. She went to her nightstand and grabbed her phone. She called Kim.

"Hey, Bonnie," Kim chirped. The fact that she sounded so happy to hear from Bonnie made Bonnie's heart cheer.

"Hey…" Bonnie wanted to try out a term of endearment, but it was probably too soon for that. But, it was something to think about. What would she call Kim? Honey? Sweetheart? Baby? Babe?

"Are you okay? Do you need anything?" Kim asked.

A small smile spread across Bonnie's face just from the sound of Kim's voice. "I'm fine. I was just wondering where we're going tonight."

Kim chuckled. "I'm not telling you."

Bonnie's face fell. "Why not?" _I need something work with here!_

"You didn't tell me where you were taking me when you took me out. You'll like it. Or at least I hope you'll like it," Kim said with an uncharacteristic tremble in her voice at the end there.

Bonnie smiled. Kim was nervous. It was cute. It was also nice to know she was not the only one worrying over this date.

"I'm trying to figure out what to wear," Bonnie admitted. She was not sure what Kim might have in mind, but she wished she had an idea to help her narrow things down. "Can you tell me something to help narrow it down, at least?"

"Hmm… it's inside."

Bonnie sighed. "Well, that's not much of a help." That left her with pretty much every outfit she had as a possibility.

"That's the best I can do."

"Do you have to so… _impossible_?" Bonnie huffed, balling her free hand into a tight fist. She was about to stomp her foot, but caught herself. No sense in throwing a tantrum Kim could not see.

Kim laughed. "Do you really have to ask?"

Sighing, Bonnie stroked just above her eyes with her thumb and index finger. "I just want to know what to wear."

"Something nice and comfortable," Kim answered, as if it were that easy.

Date-wear was never "nice and comfortable." Date-wear was supposed to be sexy. Kim was not helping in any way.

"What are you wearing?" Bonnie asked. Maybe that would be a better way.

Kim snorted and laughed. "I'm not telling you that! What part of _surprise_ don't you get?"

Bonnie blew out an annoyed breath and ran her hand through her hair. "You're just not going to make this easy, are you?" Part of her feared Kim might be making fun of her, like anyone she allowed to be close to her… or wanted to be close to, in the case of her sisters. _No, no, no. Kim isn't like that. She's just being playful, which is a good thing_.

"I want it to be a nice surprise. You're the one making it difficult by asking about it. But, I guess I should expect that," Kim teased.

Bonnie stiffed. _Maybe she is like that_. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked with quite a bit of attitude.

What if this whole thing was just an elaborate way to make fun of her? After all, it seemed kind of sudden for Kim to want to be with her after how long she pined for Josh. This could all be some huge joke and she would die of embarrassment, literally.

"Calm down, Bonnie. I just mean I want it to be a nice surprise and you asking me about it is making me want to tell you, but I know you'll like the surprise if you just give it a chance," Kim explained in a patient tone, like she was talking someone off of a ledge. Maybe she was.

Bonnie sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. _Kim wouldn't hurt me. I have to stop thinking like this_. This was what she wanted. She needed to make the most of it rather than self-destructing.

"So, no clues on how to dress?" Bonnie asked in a tone that let Kim know she had a pout on her face.

"Sorry, sweetie, but no."

Bonnie yelped at the term of endearment. It made her feel warm on the inside and assured her that she had been wrong to think this was a setup. _So, I guess it's not too soon for terms of endearments_. _What could I call her?_ There was silence between them for a long moment.

"Was that all right?" Kim asked in a quiet tone.

"Yes," Bonnie answered quickly, in a breath. _Okay, you sound stupid. Get it together_. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Yes, it was all right," she said in her normal voice.

"Okay."

"Um…" Bonnie could not get her thoughts together. "I think I'm going to go. I need to figure out what to wear, after all."

Kim chuckled. "Don't think too hard on it. It's no big."

Bonnie scoffed. It was very big. It was _major_ big. She was about to go out with her crush, on a date planned by her crush. This was mega-huge, in fact. But, maybe telling Kim that would not be wise. She did not want to put any pressure on Kim. _Pressure on Kim? You mean the girl who can do anything? Yeah, I doubt she's feeling a lot of pressure right now, or ever really._

"I still need to get ready," Bonnie said. Kim might not feel pressure, but she still did. She needed to figure out the best outfit to make sure Kim's attention was on her.

"Okay. Do you want me to pick you up?" Kim asked.

"No!" Bonnie answered quickly and adamantly. While her sisters were not home, her mother was. She did not want her mother to embarrass her, which was a hundred and twenty percent certainty if a friend came to the door. "Um… I'll come to you," she replied, hoping to cover up blurting out her other response.

"Are you sure? I mean, this was my plan, so I feel like I should pick you up."

"No, it's all right. This gives me more time to figure out what to wear."

Kim chuckled. "Well, don't take too long. We need to be there by nine."

 _Why by nine? Maybe it's a nice restaurant._ "I'll be ready."

"Then I'll see you in a little while."

"All right." They managed to get off of the phone and Bonnie was still left with staring into her closet. She groaned.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie took a deep breath to steel herself to knock on the door. She was not sure why it seemed like such a big deal. She had been over this house so many times, even once last week when she picked up Kim for their date. Still, this seemed like such a big deal. _I believe you said "mega-huge."_ She groaned as the stupid voice in her head chimed in.

"Come on, Rockwaller. You can do this. You're just going in the Possible household. It's not a big deal," Bonnie said to herself. _But, it is a big deal_. Bonnie sighed because the voice in her head never helped. _I know it's a big deal, but I'm trying to stop being nervous_.

When the voice did not say anything back, Bonnie took another breath and then knocked on the door. She heard Mr. Possible call, but he sounded very far from the door. He ended up answering, though, and he smiled when he saw her on the doorstep.

"Bonnie! Kimmie said you two were going out together," he said it so casually.

For a very brief moment, Bonnie froze. Kim told her parents they were going out? Kim could not possibly be that bold! Who would out herself and someone else before they even had a chance to figure out if they were compatible? And then the rest of her brain caught up and she realized he meant it literally, like when they went out as friend. _Okay, no, that makes sense. You can breathe again, Rockwaller. Breathe_.

"Yeah, we're going to spend the evening together," Bonnie replied with a smile that she hoped was not as nervous as it felt. Although, she felt proud of herself for her voice sounding relatively normal.

He did not seem affected and just smiled back. "Just the two of you then?" he asked as he motioned for her to come in.

"As far as I know," she answered honestly.

"That's good," he said with a firm nod. "I think Kimmie's still upstairs. You can go right up."

"Thanks." Bonnie made her way to the stairs, almost getting run over by Jim and Tim on the way. They did not even bother to apologize, just continuing on their way to wherever the hell they were going. _I can see why Kim calls them tweebs_. She glared at their backs, but they were out of sight very quickly.

Bonnie quickly put them out of her mind, though. She marched up to Kim's room, knocking on the wall to make sure her presence was known. Kim grumbled something, but it did seem like it was directed toward Bonnie.

"Kim, are you ready?" Bonnie called as she came to the top of the stairs.

"I am. I'm sorry. I meant to meet you at the door, but I couldn't find my shoes," Kim confessed with a light blush as she moved to meet Bonnie at the stairs.

Bonnie smiled a little, finding the blush agonizingly adorable. "It's quite all right. I see you found them." She glanced down at Kim's feet. She had on black greek sandals along with a cerulean sundress. Bonnie's heart thumped in her chest. _God, she's so beautiful_.

"Yeah, I just found them. You look nice," Kim said as Bonnie stood at the room entrance.

Bonnie gave her a shy smile. "You like it?" She had decided on a skirt with a tropical scene on it and a yellow shirt. It showed off her figure, as well as her keen fashion sense.

With a nod, Kim smiled. "I do. You look nice in bright colors."

Bonnie bounced a little, feeling proud of herself. They just stood there a little awkwardly. Bonnie wanted to say something, but she was not sure what to say. Thankfully, Kim jumped right in, as she usually did.

"Well, we should get going," Kim said, motioning to the stairs.

Bonnie nodded. "Right."

Kim stepped closer to her as she turned to go back down the stairs. They descended the stairs together, going down to the first floor of the house. Bonnie was about to go to the door, but Kim turned to the kitchen. Bonnie's brow furrowed.

"Gimme a second. I just need to get something," Kim said, pointing to the kitchen.

"I'll wait outside," Bonnie replied. She did not want to chance any questions from the twins or Mr. Possible. She definitely did not want to face Mrs. Possible if she was home. If anybody in the Possible household could figure out what was happening, it would be Mrs. Possible.

Kim nodded and they parted ways. Bonnie went to the porch and stared at the night sky. She took a breath and let it out slowly, hoping it would keep her heart rate at the proper speed.

"I can't keep being nervous or things are gonna keep being awkward," Bonnie muttered. She gnawed her bottom lip a little. She doubted just saying it aloud would make her less anxious, but it was best to say and try. "So, stop being nervous. Stop being nervous." She took another breath.

Kim showed up as soon as she finished her little pep talk. She had a bag with her. Bonnie eyed the bag and Kim smiled.

"It's all part of the night. Trust me," Kim said, hiding the bag behind her back a little.

"More surprises?" Bonnie guessed with an arched eyebrow. She was not sure if she liked surprises, even if Kim was the one with the surprise.

Kim gave her a solid nod. "Yes. Now, I talked my dad into letting me borrow his car, so we don't have to walk."

"Your dad actually trusts you with his car?" Bonnie was surprised by this. From what she gathered, Mr. Possible still thought Kim was about ten years old and that was being generous.

Kim laughed. "He thinks you're driving."

That seemed weird, too. Bonnie's face scrunched up a little. "Why does he trust me more than you?"

Still laughing, Kim shrugged. "He seems to think you're better at it than I am."

Bonnie smiled. "You're his little girl." That had to count for something. There were days when her father was not angry at the world or hiding at the bottom of a beer bottle when she could almost understand how that was.

Kim did not say anything and unlocked the car. She secured her bag in the backseat while Bonnie rode shotgun. Kim groaned as she got in.

"I wanted to open the door for you," Kim said, slapping her palm to her forehead.

Of course, Kim would be chivalrous. Bonnie would like to be on the receiving end of such behavior. She had never dated anyone who opened doors for her. The best she could get was a date who would at least pay for everything and give her gifts, but no real classic gentleman behavior.

"Well, hopefully, this will just be the first of many times we're in a car together and you'll get the chance," Bonnie commented, trying to fight down a bright smile. In the end, she ended up smirking a bit.

Turning, Kim flashed her a grin before pulling the car out of the driveway. Bonnie let her smile loose and smiled back, even though Kim was focused on the road. They both only had a learner's permit, but Kim definitely drove like a grandma.

"You're never going to pass driver's ed if this is how you're going to drive in class," Bonnie commented, even though Kim had passed the class for her permit.

"Don't complain about my driving. I'm cautious," Kim replied.

A light chuckle escaped Bonnie and she smiled. Without thinking, she reached over, taking Kim's hand. As soon as it happened, Bonnie realized what she did. She glanced at Kim, hoping to see if it was all right. Kim kept her eyes on the road, but there was a small smile on her face, so Bonnie continued holding her hand.

"I hope you like this," Kim said.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Bonnie replied, thumb lightly caressing the top of Kim's hand. Kim could drive them around Middleton and then just return them home and that would be fine. So, anything beyond that would be amazing.

"I hope," Kim repeated.

Kim was nervous, too. It was cute and also helped Bonnie relax a little. It was nice to know she was not the only one who felt like she might freak out. Then, they pulled into the empty parking lot of the space center.

"What are we doing here?" Bonnie asked, looking around. She had been parked in a couple of empty parking lots in her day, but she highly doubted Kim had parked here for those same reasons. _Maybe Kim has to do one of her save-the-day things before we go out_.

"This is the location of our date," Kim answered.

Bonnie's brow wrinkled. They were going on a date at the space center? Kim might not be cut out for date-planning, but still this would be all right. They were there, _together_. That was all that mattered.

Kim parked and then rushed around to open Bonnie's door for her. Bonnie smiled and then Kim went to take her hand, helping her out of the car. She then offered Bonnie her arm.

"It's closed, so no one is here," Kim informed her.

Bonnie took her arm. "How are we supposed to get in then? Your dad might've given you his car keys, but I know he didn't give you his work keys."

A playful smile settled onto Kim's face. "I've helped a few scientists around here, so they were eager to help me out."

Still a little confused, Bonnie arched an elegant eyebrow. "So, you told them you needed to borrow the space center for a date?"

Kim snickered. "I might not have said the word 'date' since I want them to take me seriously, but I did request a little after-hours use of a certain section of the lab. You'll like it." Then a blushed stained her cheeks. "Well, I hope you'll like it."

"You didn't need to go through so much trouble for me." It was flattering, though. She doubted anyone had ever gone through so much trouble for her, especially on a second date.

Kim flashed her a grin. "Well, let's see if it was worth it first."

"It already is."

Kim led her inside the space center, which looked very creepy at night, but Bonnie did not say anything. She was not too worried anyway. If this suddenly turned into a horror flick, she doubted there was any safer place than next to Kim Possible. Of course, if this was a horror flick, it would also be a guarantee that whatever was there would come after them because of Kim. _Stop thinking right now_.

They entered a room that was completely dark. Kim pulled her closer, but she doubted it was for romance reasons. Kim still seemed to be leading her. She was thankful for that because this really might be a horror movie now. She could not see a thing.

"Okay, I need you to stay here for a second," Kim said.

Bonnie gasped. "You're leaving?" Her voice quivered. Okay, now, if this was a horror flick, she would die. She would die first. It would be a terrible, ghastly death. _At least I wouldn't see my gruesome end_.

"No, I'm not leaving. I'm right here. I just need to set up," Kim explained, rubbing Bonnie's shoulder. It helped keep Bonnie calm. "I'll keep talking to you to prove I'm here," she promised.

"Okay." Bonnie nodded, even though Kim could not see. She just needed the double affirmative for some reason, like it reassured her.

"So, have you eaten dinner yet?" Kim asked and Bonnie could hear rustling. She figured Kim was going through her bag.

"I didn't."

"You spent all your time trying to decide what to wear?" Kim's voice was light. It also did not sound far away, so that was good.

Bonnie frowned. "Well, yes. I wanted to look nice."

"And you do. So, mission accomplished there. I hope this turns out as great as I imagined it, so your effort doesn't go to waste."

"Or yours." Not to mention, she did not eat because she thought there would be dinner during the date. She hoped she was right.

"I suppose," Kim said modestly. "Okay, so I'm going to direct you a little bit, all right?"

"Okay."

Bonnie felt Kim moving her a little. She went where she was directed. It barely took a second. Kim let her go after inclining her chin slightly. Something like this should have bothered Bonnie, being controlled like some puppet, but she did not mind with Kim because she knew Kim did not view her as a toy.

"Okay, now, I need you to just prepare yourself," Kim said softly.

"Prepare myself for what?" Bonnie asked.

"This." Suddenly, there was light in the room, but it was not a bright light meant to illuminate a room.

"Wow," Bonnie muttered before she could stop herself. The light was from the ceiling. There were stars above them, painting the dark ceiling. It was like looking at the night sky, but so much brighter. It was remarkable.

"This is the milky way," Kim said, standing so close to Bonnie. She could feel the hero's body heat, which made her feel warm.

"This is amazing," Bonnie whispered in awe. She could not think of a better way to put it.

"I hope so. I figured we could have a picnic under the stars." Kim motioned down to the floor where she managed to set up a blanket.

"Kim, you didn't have to," Bonnie found herself saying. _Oh, my god, how much work did she put into this? How much thought did she put into this? This is amazing!_

A smile lit up Kim's features and she tilted her head slightly, thoughtfully. "Yes, I did. I'm serious about dating you, Bonnie. I feel the start of something here and I want to see it through."

Bonnie could not think of a single thing to say. No one had ever put so much thought and romance into a date before. Kim smiled at her, eyes showing delight in how well she had done. She then motioned for Bonnie to sit down on the blanket. Bonnie sat, but kept her eyes on the ceiling. She could hardly believe this.

"Kim, this is so amazing," Bonnie repeated. What else could she say? This was amazing! She had no idea the space center could be this cool.

"I'm glad you like it. It'll make up for dinner," Kim said as she pulled out their food. It was takeout. "I'm not a good cook." A rueful look overtook her face for a moment. Like her other expressions, Bonnie found this look adorable.

"I really don't mind. How did you manage this?" Bonnie asked as she took her dish of food. Thankfully, it was not Bueno Nacho. It appeared to be pasta from an actual restaurant. Apparently, Kim was a little romantic.

Kim shrugged. "I just called in a favor. It's one of the many ways I get things done."

"You called in a favor? For me?" Bonnie was not sure she would be able to make it through this date if Kim kept this up. This was already the most romance she probably had ever experienced in her life on a day that was not Valentine's Day or an anniversary of some kind.

"Yeah, I told you, I want —" Kim did not get a chance to finish that thought. Bonnie was on her, swallowing the words, kissing Kim as passionately as she could.

Kim squeaked when Bonnie hit her, but a moment later, she returned the kiss. Bonnie's heart soared as she felt Kim's lips press against hers. This kiss was everything their first one was and more. Emboldened, Bonnie softly lapped at Kim's bottom lip, just wanting a taste. To her surprise, Kim opened up and their tongues met. Bonnie had never felt something so electrifying and soon she was lightheaded. She ended up pulling away first, her lungs burning for air, even though her body craved Kim even more.

"Wow…" Bonnie muttered. She felt like she did not know any other words.

Kim laughed. "Yeah."

"I think… I think I'm going to like being your girlfriend," Bonnie commented. Or at least she hoped that was what they were.

"You keep kissing me like that and I think you won't be the only one who likes being someone's girlfriend," Kim replied with a smile.

Bonnie only smiled back. Hopefully, this was the start of something amazing. It certainly felt like it was.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Endless Dreams

Kim never imagined planning a date would be so hard. She did not have any experience in this area. Not to mention, she had not been on many dates in her life, so she did not have much to draw on. Worst of all, her dates had been simple things, like the movies and dinner at a moderately priced restaurant. She did not want to do that, because it was boring and she was certain Bonnie had had dozens of dates like that.

She did not mean that in a bad way. She just wanted to do something special, to show Bonnie she was worth an effort. She wanted to make Bonnie believe she was serious about them dating. She wanted to explore these odd feelings Bonnie stirred up inside of her.

For a very brief moment, a fit of madness she would later assume, Kim was tempted to ask her father for advice. She knew that would go over about as well as a lead balloon. He was already freaked out by the idea of her dating in general. She could only imagine his reaction to her dating a girl.

"Although, that might actually be better for him," Kim muttered as she rolled over in her bed. She was not sure why her father was so freaked out over her seeing boys, actually. She was responsible and definitely not stupid enough to do something she was not ready for. Besides, if a boy ever tried anything and could not figure out that no meant no, she could just beat him up.

Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought. Her father was a little odd, pure and simple. She loved the guy for it, but he was weird. Her eyes traveled out of the window and she smiled when she noticed the stars. Her father used to take her out on nights like this and tell her all of the constellations. It was fun and she still remembered everything, even though it had been years since they had done something like that.

"I wonder if Bonnie's looking at this same night sky," she murmured. She doubted it. Bonnie did not seem like the type to stop and stargaze. "But, she'd probably like it."

Bonnie was surprising in the fact that she liked learning things. It was something she had kept hidden, for some weird reason she had yet to tell Kim. Sometimes she even seemed shy to share what she knew, but she liked to know things. There was a light in her eyes when she understood her work or when she understood an explanation Kim gave her to help her with her work.

"Maybe she'd like stargazing," Kim considered. But, what could she do with that information? It was not like they could sit in a car and just stare at the sky for a couple of hours. But, she knew where they could go and stare at the sky for a couple of hours, where they could see sections of the sky that was not even available to them outside, and where they would be warm without running out of gas.

She could set it all up and it could be magical. She had seen the stars exhibit at the space center over a dozen times in her life. It was a wonderful experience, but she had to hope Bonnie went for it. Yes, she had seen a side of Bonnie she did not know existed in their month of friendship, but she could not be totally sure that Bonnie was not part of the mask she showed the rest of the world.

"Maybe I should take the risk. If nothing else, maybe she'll see the effort I made. I know she's probably never been on a date like this before," Kim muttered as she sat up.

She needed to make sure this wowed Bonnie properly. So, it was not just about the exhibit, but making the whole experience unique. She needed to make sure there were no distractions, so she would probably need to call in a favor to get the stars gallery to herself. That would not be too hard.

"But, what else could we do?" Kim tapped her chin in thought. It would probably be late if she wanted the exhibit to herself, so they might need to eat first. "Or we could eat under the stars." It would give them something to do in case Bonnie was not into the stars or if Kim got a chance to show off her knowledge of the constellations.

With a couple of ideas buzzing, she grabbed a pad and wrote down what she needed. She needed to make this as convincing as Bonnie's date, but also something to let Bonnie know she saw deeper into her former rival. This was important and she needed to make an impression. She needed it to be perfect.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Bonnie deals with Kim being upset over something.


	3. Being There

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

3: Being There

So far, dating Kim Possible was like a dream come true for Bonnie. Since Kim's date two weeks ago, they had gone out six times on what they would consider dates, including simple things like walking through the woods or going to the movies. This did not even count the days (all of them) Bonnie came by the Possible house and studied with Kim or just hung out with her. It was _amazing_.

School, though. School was hard. Really hard. Yes, they were friends, so she could be seen talking to Kim, but that was about it. There were times already when she just wanted to act like Kim's _girl_ friend, but she knew that would not go over well. It would probably be social suicide for both of them… even though some people speculated about Kim and had since junior high. Kim did not know, of course.

Now that Bonnie thought about it, it was a little… sexist? she supposed… as to why some people assumed Kim was a lesbian. Her mission wardrobe. The missions themselves. The fact that Kim could out-compete any guy in probably _anything_. Guys were threatened by her, which also made it hard for her to get guys. Not that Kim seemed interested in picking up a lot of guys, which did not help. Of course, she had her share of crushes, but those never seemed to go anywhere.

Bonnie shook her head. She needed to stop thinking about Kim and focusing on… she looked down at her notebook. Okay, so she was in Spanish class. She definitely needed to focus on that. _Running is 'correr' or 'comer'?_ She was barely passing as it was. She definitely did not have a talent for language beyond English.

Once the bell rang, Bonnie made her way to her locker, hoping to see Kim. She did her best not to rush, but did a piss poor job and she was very aware of that. A bunch of people waved and such as she passed, but she barely registered them. She definitely did not return any greetings, which she was certain did not surprise anyone. Just as her locker came into view, she saw Kim with Ron and felt a little disappointment ping in her chest.

When she and Kim first tried on their friendship, Bonnie did not mind Ron. She understood he was there first. He was Kim's _best_ friend. She could not and never would replace him. Hell, Bonnie even liked him now. She understood his appeal, but now it seemed like he was always there! She wanted a little alone time with Kim, but nope, there was Ron. Her sidekick, her shadow.

Before Bonnie could seethe about it, or figure out she was being irrational, suddenly there were football players in her face. She was bombarded with questions about who had the biggest bicep and had muscles in her face. In the past, she would have indulged them. She would have flirted with them, rubbed up against them, and whatever else they needed to continue seeing her as some sort of goddess. Right now, she just wanted to get to Kim, but the bell rang before that was possible.

"Damn it," Bonnie hissed. Making matters worse, she had not gotten her books for her next class, so she would be late or unprepared. This day was just shaping up to be awesome. _Not_.

-8-8-8-8-

After school, and after hanging out at Bueno Nacho where Ron had an eating contest with his naked mole rat — who had better table manners than Ron for some reason — Bonnie and Kim found themselves in Kim's room. They were doing homework, as was their usual after school. Ron never joined them, as he "did not believe in homework." Whatever that meant. It seemed a bit funny coming from a guy who did believe in Bigfoot. So, homework was a myth, but Bigfoot totally existed? Whatever. _I rather_ not _know how his brain works_.

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked. Kim had been silent the whole time they were alone. There were no questions about her day, even though Kim was present for most of it.

"Fine. Just this problem…" Kim trailed off, but motioned down to her book. She stared down at it with an intense look of concentration, far too intense for math work.

"It'd probably be easier if you used a calculator," Bonnie pointed out. Kim grunted and frowned at the paper. This probably had to do with something that was not pre-cal, even though Kim was insane for taking pre-cal. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" Bonnie asked, moving closer to Kim, wanting to be touching.

Kim only frowned more and moved away a little, so they were not touching. Now, Bonnie suspected this had something to do with her. Internally, she grimaced and her stomach dropped. Were they about to have a fight? Was Kim about to break up with her? But, it seemed like such an amazing two weeks!

"Kim…" Bonnie said and she had to pause to swallow as her throat felt tight. "I need you to talk to me." Her voice was low and she was not surprised by the little quaver. _You had a good two weeks, Bonnie. Why'd you expect more?_ She decided to ignore the voice in her head for once, needing to hear from Kim before having a total mental breakdown.

"It's nothing," Kim lied.

Bonnie swallowed again, not that it was doing a damn thing for her throat. "Do you… do you want me to leave?"

Olive eyes looked up, wide and imploring. "No! Why would I want you to leave?"

Bonnie gave her a deadpan look, trying her best to hide her hurt. "Because you're obviously upset. With me, I think. You don't want to talk about it, you don't want me to touch you, and until a second ago, you didn't want to look at me. So, do you want me to leave?"

"No."

"Then tell me what's wrong," Bonnie said, managing to maintain eye contact. Her voice sounded a little stronger than she felt.

Kim sighed. "It's nothing."

"It's something, so spill, Possible," Bonnie ordered, feeling braver and more like herself with every passing second. _So, I'll need to be stern every now and then. I can handle that… as soon as I get it in my head that she's not going to break up with me the second something goes sideways_. That might take a while.

Kim twisted her mouth up a little and brushed some hair behind her ear. The movement almost distracted Bonnie from the task at hand, but she managed to stay focused. She stared Kim down, waiting for explanation.

"Are you happy?" Kim blurted out.

Bonnie's brow wrinkled as her eyebrows bent in. "Am I happy?" _Does "hell, fucking yeah!" cover it?_ Bonnie did not say that because she did not want to chance someone hearing her use such language. In such a wholesome house, it might be a good way to get banned. "Yes, I'm happy. Why would you even ask that?"

"Well… I saw you with the football team today…" Kim rubbed the back of her neck. At least she was embarrassed. It went well with being insane.

"You saw me with the football team, and what? You assumed I was going to disappear into a closet with all of them?" Bonnie inquired. She knew much of the school assumed she had banged most of the football team, as well as other teams. She knew with popularity came rumors and her behavior did not help.

"What?" Kim's eyes went wide. "No!" She shook her head vehemently. "I just thought… Umm, you know… Maybe you'd rather be with one of them." A long sigh escaped her.

Sighing, Bonnie moved closer and took Kim's hand. Thankfully, Kim did not pull away. For a moment, she just enjoyed the feel of Kim's slightly callused hand and her thumb ran over Kim's knuckles.

"Kim, if I wanted to be with one of them, I would. It's not hard for a cheerleader to pull a football player, you know? What is a challenge is a cheerleader pulling the cutest girl in school." Bonnie smirked a little.

Kim blushed. "I'm not…"

Bonnie pressed a kiss to Kim's cheek. "You are. You're adorable and the thing that makes you even cuter is that you don't know it." She ran a hand through Kim's soft hair and then settled her hand on Kim's cheek. "You're perfect to me, so why would I want anyone else?"

Kim's blush burned a little brighter and spread up to her ears. "Bonnie…"

"I'm totally serious. I need you to understand that. I don't want anyone but you." Leaning in, she placed a soft kiss to Kim's lips and was rewarded with a gentle press back. Pulling away slightly, she smiled. "So, no more of this 'me wanting to be with someone else,' right?"

Kim smiled. "Right."

"Good." Bonnie did not pull all the way away, though. She just reveled in the feel of Kim's skin under her fingertips.

A pout suddenly settled on Kim's face. "I'm sorry for being such bad company."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and gave Kim another kiss. "Don't think anything of it."

They were silent for a moment. Bonnie enjoyed the closeness and then Kim had to ruin it. "We should probably finish our homework," the redhead suggested.

Bonnie sighed, but Kim was right. She did not have to like it, though. Kim went back to her pre-cal while Bonnie settled on finishing up chemistry. Her face scrunched up as she got to a formula she could not work her way through.

"Want some help?" Kim offered, seemingly out of the blue.

Bonnie was not paying much attention, but had enough mind to reply. "Hmm?"

"Help, do you want some? You have your 'I don't get it' face on."

Bonnie arched an eyebrow and stared Kim in the face. "My _what_?"

A light laugh came out of Kim's mouth. "Your 'I don't get it' face. Your nose gets these… well, cute wrinkles and the way your eyebrows curl up a little…" Kim blushed as she described this.

"What? Why do you even know that?" Bonnie had no idea she had such a face. Of course, she never looked at herself while she working. And, she did not hang out with people who wanted to be with her while she worked.

Kim smiled a bit. "Uh… I'm observant and we've been doing homework together for almost two months now. Besides, I like looking at you."

The admission got a blush out of Bonnie, which she thought was funny. She had tons of boys tell her things like she was beautiful and how good-looking she was, but Kim just casually mentioning she liked looking at Bonnie was beyond all of that. Her heart sped up a little. _Really? One little compliment and I'm off in la-la land?_ Of course, she did not care.

"So, do you want some help?" Kim asked again, drawing Bonnie out of her trip off into la-la land.

"You really like looking at me?" Bonnie found herself inquiring. _Wow, smooth. Next time just use a damn pole while fishing for compliments_.

"Yes, even when we were just doing homework."

Bonnie was a little thrown to know Kim watched her, even before they started dating. It was a little flattering. Maybe Kim had been interested in her and just did not know it, not that it mattered. Kim was certainly interested in her now.

"So, help?" Kim offered once more.

Bonnie nodded. "I would like some help." She moved over to Kim and taking her book with her. "I'm usually pretty okay with chemistry." She did not want Kim to think she was stupid.

"I figured. You tend to leave it for last, so you can go through it quickly," Kim said and Bonnie just stared. Kim laughed. "I'm sorry. I'm freaking you out, aren't I?"

"No, no, no! It's just… I'm not used to someone paying so much attention to me." Well, and not insulting her in the process or expecting her to do things that she did not want to think about right now.

Kim's forehead wrinkled. "What are you talking about? You're hands down the most popular person in school. Everyone pays attention to you."

"Yeah, to what I'm saying or what I'm doing, but not to me, not to _all of me_. Do you think anyone in school knows I like chemistry?" People in school did not care that she had a somewhat working brain. They wanted her energy devoted to trends, fads, being the life of the party, and crap like that. Crap that she was quickly realizing would not matter, did not matter. There was this whole other life to live, quiet and peaceful with hopes of a future.

Kim chuckled. "I guess not. But, yeah, I figured you were all right with chemistry. It's Spanish that gets you."

"Now, how the hell do you know _that_?"

"You always start with it and you spend the most time on it. Plus, you're always wearing your 'I don't get it' face."

"You spend a lot of time looking at me when we're supposed to be doing homework," Bonnie pointed out. Again, it was flattering, but it was also a little weird. She barely had time to pay attention to Kim when they did homework.

Kim let loose a nonchalant shrug. "I'm used to multi-tasking and you… well, you kinda fascinate me, Bonnie."

Bonnie smiled. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, even before we started going out, I just… I dunno. You're interesting and I want to know more about you, things no one else knows."

Bonnie smiled even brighter. "I want to know more about you, too, and I want to let you in." She had walls, always had, and they protected her for the most part, but it was lonely behind those walls. She wanted to let Kim in and she trusted Kim… most of the time.

"So, how about I help you with this chem thing that's giving you problems and then we can hang out?" Kim suggested.

Bonnie only nodded. Of course Kim knocked out the problem in no time, and explained it well to boot. Bonnie felt like if she was going to date Kim Possible, and spend more time at the Possible home, she would definitely have to step up her schoolwork. It was one thing to be a C-plus student around jocks, but quite another to be one while spending all of her time around geniuses.

"Glad that's out of the way," Bonnie said, packing away her schoolwork.

"Me, too. Are you staying for dinner?" Kim asked.

Most days when they did homework, Bonnie stayed for dinner. Whether it was a home cooked meal or takeout, it beat whatever her mom would make, mostly because it did not involve her having to sit at the table with her parents. It was only made worse if her sisters were home.

"If it's not a problem," Bonnie answered.

"I doubt it is. I'll go ask my mom, just to make sure there's enough for you," Kim said.

Bonnie nodded and then Kim was gone. Bonnie looked around the room while she was alone. She had already taken in everything that was on display, but it was a way to occupy her time. Kim's room did not look too different from her own. It was quite possibly the default look of a teenage girl's room.

"Mom said it's all right for you to stay for dinner," Kim announced as she came back upstairs.

Bonnie smiled. "Okay."

"Dinner will probably be ready in an hour. You want to watch a movie or something?"

Bonnie nodded, fine with that. Kim did not have a television in her room. She did not watch much TV since she was always on the move, but she did have a laptop. Bonnie found she liked the laptop more than a TV. It gave them an excuse to cuddle close on Kim's bed.

"Anything you want to see?" Kim asked.

"Nope." Bonnie had yet to pay attention to any movie they watched on this laptop. Feeling Kim against her was more than enough to keep her focus for two hours.

Kim shrugged and found something she wanted to see and probably thought Bonnie wanted to see. She put the DVD into the computer and they settled at the head of her bed. Their arms and legs touched, Bonnie had to curb the urge to put her arm around Kim or drape her leg over Kim's. Instead, she busied herself noting how Kim smelled like honeysuckle. Her eyes drifted to Kim's neck, wondering if the smell would be stronger there. The idea of burying her face in Kim's neck overcame her and she had to swallow hard.

 _Oh, someone's getting ahead of herself, isn't she?_ Bonnie knew burying her face in any part of Kim would be way too soon at this point in this relationship, but it did not quell her desire to do so. She felt hot just thinking about when they would get to that point and then butterflies fluttered in her belly. _Okay, now you're even making yourself nervous. Cut it out. Enjoy this_.

"Bonnie, are you okay?" Kim asked.

"Hmm?" Bonnie answered, hoping she did not sound as dazed as she felt.

"You okay? You're all red all of a sudden."

"I'm fine. I think I might be a little hot is all." Okay, a lot of hot and definitely bothered. But, she could not say that.

Frowning a little, Kim looked between them. "You want me to move over some? I think you'll still be able to see the movie."

"No!" Bonnie objected, maybe a little too strongly because Kim's eyes went wide for a moment. Bonnie took a calming breath. _Kim's my girlfriend. I can tell her the truth_. "I like feeling you against me." _Really? You're a coward_ , the voice in her said. Bonnie disagreed. She told the truth. Just a different truth.

Kim smiled. "I like it, too."

Bonnie felt light on the inside and a little bold. So, she put her arm around Kim's shoulders and much to her surprise and delight, Kim leaned in closer, resting against Bonnie. Internally, Bonnie preened. _Who's a coward? Huh?_ The voice in her head actually scoffed. _You got lucky_. Glancing at Kim, Bonnie agreed. She certainly did get lucky.

"Girls, dinner's ready," Mrs. Possible's voice called from the bottom of the stairs.

Bonnie and Kim jumped apart, like they had been caught doing something wrong. Mrs. Possible did not even come upstairs. The teens looked at each other and laughed awkwardly. They did not talk about their reactions, just going downstairs and trying to pretend like everything was normal. By the time they sat down to eat, the awkwardness was gone.

After dinner, Mrs. Possible offered to drive Bonnie home. For a moment, Bonnie felt dread settle in her stomach, like somehow Mrs. Possible saw her snuggling with Kim earlier. But, that was impossible. Still, her guts twisted a little as she went to collect her things. Kim went with her.

"Um… are you going to ride with us?" Bonnie asked, shouldering her book bag. Neither of them made any moves to leave the room just yet.

"Do you want me to?" Kim countered. Usually, Bonnie just walked home. Kim would go along with her to make sure she got there all right. It was not far, just about ten minutes when walking. But, whenever Kim's parents offered, she could not turn them down because they insisted and when a Possible insisted, it was as good as done.

"Please," Bonnie requested in a breath.

Kim laughed and gave Bonnie a quick peck on the lips. "It's just my mom, sweetie."

"I know, but now I'm nervous."

"It's no big, but yeah, I'll ride with you."

"Thank you."

Kim smiled. They decided to get to their goodbye kiss now since they could not very well do it in the car. Bonnie reached out and caressed Kim's cheek as their lips met. Kim cupped the back of her head, pressing Bonnie closer. A light whimper escaped Bonnie as she lapped at Kim's lips and Kim's tongue met her own. The caress of Kim's tongue and lips sent hot energy through Bonnie. Soon, her lungs burned for air, but the rest of her burned for Kim more. Kim had to pull away first.

"We shouldn't keep Mom waiting," Kim said in a low voice, trying to catch her breath.

Bonnie could only nod, too busy panting to talk. It should be illegal for Kim to taste, smell, and feel _so good_. Kim led Bonnie downstairs by the hand, letting go when they hit the hallway. They met Mrs. Possible at the door.

"I'm going to ride along, okay, Mom?" Kim said, sounding incredibly casual for a girl that just had her tongue down another girl's throat. "I don't want you riding back home alone."

Mrs. Possible regarded them for a moment and Bonnie felt like she had "I just finished tongue-kissing your daughter" tattooed on her forehead. She had to resist the urge to take Kim's hand. If she could just hold Kim's hand, then she would feel reassured. Kim, to her credit, looked like everything was normal.

"Sure, no problem," Mrs. Possible answered.

Bonnie was not sure why, but she breathed a sigh of relief. They went out to the car and Bonnie got in the back. Kim offered her the front seat, but Bonnie shook her head. She felt like sitting shotgun meant she would have to talk to Mrs. Possible and it was hard to even imagine that with the way Bonnie just wanted to jump the woman's daughter.

"So, Bonnie, how's school?" Mrs. Possible asked. Usually, this line of questioning would have been covered over dinner, but tonight, like other nights, plenty of other things dominated the dinner conversation. The Possibles were an active clan and liked to keep up with each other when they could.

"It's going better since I started doing my homework with Kim," Bonnie answered truthfully. Before Kim, she tried doing her homework at home, which worked if her sisters were not there and her parents were not arguing. Sometimes, she even made it through all of her work if she was home, but it was not very often. Other times, she went to the library and rarely made it through anything because her friends knew to find her there, never even questioning what the hell she was doing in a library.

"That's good," Mrs. Possible said and she smiled at Kim. "I'm glad you two are getting along now."

"Me, too," Bonnie said and almost winked at Kim, but caught herself.

Kim laughed. "That makes three of us. My life is definitely less stressful." She _did_ wink at Bonnie.

Feeling a little more comfortable, Bonnie leveled a playful glare. "Oh, please, I was stressing out the girl who saves the world on a daily basis?"

"It's not daily. Maybe weekly, but not daily and, yeah! You're scary when you want to be."

Bonnie doubted that. She knew she could be annoying and mean, but scary… not to Kim, right? This was something she would try to explore at a later date.

A couple of minutes later, they pulled up to Bonnie's house. She bid them farewell as she got out of the car. Looking at the house, she could faintly hear her father yelling about something. She turned back to look at Kim, who smiled. She really wished she could reach out and touch Kim, if only to reassure herself that everything would be fine. Instead, she shouldered her bag, took a deep breath, and marched to the door. Before disappearing inside, she waved farewell to the Possibles once more.

"Where the hell have you been?" her father demanded as she closed the door. He clearly just wanted to be angry about something because, usually, he did not care.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Doing That

"I always knew Bonnie was actually a sweet girl," Kim's mother commented as they headed back to the house.

"Really?" Kim gave her mother a skeptical face.

Her mother laughed. "Okay, I had _hoped_ there was a sweet girl underneath all of the rough edges!"

"I think we're seeing the real Bonnie now." The Bonnie that had been huddled and protected by that rough, nasty exterior.

Her mother nodded. "That's good. How did you end up cracking her shell?"

Kim laughed. "I have no idea." She did not to say that Bonnie just got fed up and tired of hiding behind that wall. "This was all Bonnie's work." That was the truth.

Her mother nodded. Kim looked out of the window, as if trying to see back to Bonnie's house. Bonnie always seemed reluctant to go home. A little part of Kim - okay, a big part of Kim - thought this might just because Bonnie liked spending time with her. After all, Bonnie kissed her like there was no tomorrow whenever she could, admitted liking feeling Kim against her, and was the one to ask her out. Whenever they walked to Bonnie's house, Bonnie made sure to go slow, as if she did not want their time together to end. Bonnie obviously liked her a lot.

But, the less arrogant, more intelligent part of her knew there was something a little off whenever someone did not want to go home all the time. Bonnie could easily drag her feet when they walked because she wanted to take as much time as possible to get home. Before Kim could dwell on that, they were back home.

Kim was about to go back to her room, but her parents wanted to have a family movie night, so they all camped out in the living room. The movie ended just in time for the twins to have to go to bed. Kim had a couple of hours before she was expected to be in bed, too.

Kim had a shower and then went to her room. She picked up her books and made sure everything was packed up. It made her remember earlier and how upset she was with those stupid football players crowding around Bonnie.

It had taken all of Kim's willpower not to march over to those guys and leave Bonnie alone. Not because she wanted to stake a claim on Bonnie, but because she was nervous she might actually lose Bonnie to one of those morons. Their relationship was still pretty new and she knew Bonnie liked being on the arms of football players, but now she felt silly about it.

But, she did not like the football players crowding around Bonnie. She did not want them crowding around Bonnie because she knew what they wanted. Yeah, they were all peacocking and showing off, but it was not because they really cared about Bonnie. They wanted things from Bonnie.

Yes, she knew about Bonnie's reputation with jocks and she knew the rumors. But, she knew better than most not to listen to rumors. The thing that did set her at ease, though, was the way Bonnie kissed her goodbye tonight. Bonnie obviously wanted to be with her, wanted her. There was nothing to worry about.

"But, I don't want Bonnie giving them any attention. I want Bonnie's attention," she grumbled and that shocked her a bit. Yeah, she was dating Bonnie, but she had not considered how much she wanted Bonnie's attention. "But, not in the same way those guys want Bonnie's attention."

Before allowing herself to get lost in rumors, she heard her Kimmunicator go off. Picking the device up from her desk, she saw Bonnie was texting her. A grin spread across her space before she could stop it.

"I was just thinking about you and wanted to tell you goodnight if you were in the bed," Bonnie wrote.

Kim felt her insides melt just a little. "Bonnie is sweet." Kim was not used to the romantic attention and delighted in it. "And she wants to be with me. She wants to be sweet to me." She wasted no time replying back. "Thinking about you, too. I'll be up for a little while. What about you?" And just like that, they were texting for most of the night.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Bonnie and Kim have to deal with wanting to touch, but people might see.


	4. Wanting

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

4: Wanting

Bonnie awoke to the sound of her father complaining about how he could not find his shoes. She was fairly certain the man paid no attention to anything beyond his own person because even _she_ knew they were in the living room closet. Her mother put any discarded shoes in the living room closet because she _needed_ to keep the house clean. Generally, this song and dance got on Bonnie's nerves, but she did not care today. She had school and then she had another date with Kim. Nothing could bring her day down.

Dressing for school, she checked herself in her full-length mirror. She wanted to look good for Kim. Once she was sure she looked her best, she grabbed her book bag and then went to get breakfast.

Her father was in the kitchen, screaming about something else at that point. Her mother just took it, which Bonnie could not understand. If any guy treated her the way her father treated her mother, she would have smacked him into next week already. Instead, her mother stared at her feet while the man just screamed for no reason. Sometimes, her mother would argue back, but typically when she did not know Bonnie or her sisters were around.

"Mom, breakfast?" Bonnie asked, ignoring her father altogether. Hopefully, he would return the favor.

Her mother just pointed to the line of egg and bacon sandwiches on the counter. There were four waiting, so Bonnie suspected her sisters were around. Connie was a sophomore in college and lived at a dorm, but spent a lot of time at the house, mostly to hang out with Lonnie of course. Lonnie _somehow_ managed to graduate high school and was going to beauty school. Honestly, Bonnie was not sure who or why Lonnie was trusted to handle scissors under any circumstances, but that was not her decision. She just needed to get out of the house before they wandered downstairs.

"What are you even still doing here?" her father barked at Bonnie.

Internally, Bonnie winced. She really wished he had not noticed her. She did not even bother to look in his direction, knowing he would be glaring at her with fiery blue eyes.

"On my way out now," Bonnie replied, not sure why she was suddenly a target. She was leaving the same time today as she did everyday. Maybe because he was downstairs already today and picking on her mother was not enough for him.

"You kids are going to eat me out of house and home," he huffed, practically snarling at her for needing to eat. "Eat at your school."

Bonnie's brow furrowed and then she realized why he asked why she was there. "Dad, I'm not Connie. I'm still in high school."

"So? Don't they serve you kids breakfast now? The good thing about having girls was that you weren't supposed to eat everything in sight," he growled.

Okay, so he was in a mood. Bonnie decided to walk away instead of arguing. He screamed something at her about not turning her back on him, but she was out the door before he finished. Let her sisters and mother handle that train wreck. They had more experience with him anyway, so they should know by now how to deal.

She fixed herself up as she approached the corner of the street, where she waited for Kim and Ron. Usually, she did not wait that long, but that was because she usually got to eat her breakfast in the house instead of on the corner. Still, the wait was not long, only a few minutes more than she was used to. She smiled as soon as she saw Kim and Kim noticed her immediately, smiling right back. Ron was the one who spoke, though.

"Did you bring enough for everyone?" Ron said with an arched eyebrow.

"Huh?" Bonnie said and then remembered she had her breakfast in one hand. "You can't eat bacon."

Kim laughed. "You don't know him very well."

"Can I have a piece at least?" Ron asked, raising a hand and putting his thumb and index finger close together. Rufus popped out of his pocket.

"Bacon!" Rufus cheered, throwing his hands… paws up.

Bonnie shook her head. "No, this is my breakfast." _And now I have to eat it in the street like some kind of animal_.

"That you're eating on a street corner. I assumed you had more because no way you're eating your first bit of breakfast on a corner," Ron reasoned. Even he knew this was beneath her!

Bonnie just glared at him. Eating on a street corner was better than listening to her dad complain about money… or food or whatever the hell he was berating her mother over. Thinking about it, she almost took Kim's hand, _needing_ to feel her little piece of heaven to help ground her, but she had her breakfast in one hand and her bag in the other. It saved her from an awkward moment, though. Instead, she met eyes with Kim, who smiled at her again.

"Did you get a late start?" Kim asked, maybe trying to smooth things over.

"Something like that," Bonnie replied. She did not want to explain her home situation with Ron being present, or to Kim at all, _especially_ after seeing the Possible household. While it was not perfect considering the whole family was weird, it was still much more normal, orderly, and safer than her home.

"Well, let's get going so we're not late for school," Kim said, moving forward.

Bonnie and Ron followed. Rufus eyed Bonnie breakfast as they walked. He must have noticed her looking, so he grinned up at her. For some reason, she found the little bald rat cute, so she broke him off a piece.

"Thank you!" Rufus squeaked as he shoved the piece into his mouth. He ducked into Ron's pocket right after.

"Hey! What about me?" Ron huffed, seeming to be seriously offended.

"What, he's cuter than you," Bonnie teased with a shrug.

Rufus popped back up. "Thank you!" He bowed before he vanished again.

Bonnie laughed. She could really learn to like that little rat. He had personality, which was weird, but weird seemed to be Kim and Ron's normal, and made it fine.

"You're serious, aren't you?" Ron said.

Smirking, Bonnie took a small bite of her breakfast. "I usually am." This got a pout from Ron.

At school, they dropped Ron off at class first, even though it was actually passed their classes. Ron never seemed to notice… or was used to Kim babysitting him to class. Bonnie was not sure which and did not care. She liked the spare minute she got with Kim before they had to part.

"Hey, you okay?" Kim asked in a low tone as they started for Bonnie's homeroom.

"I'm fine," Bonnie replied.

"So, why were you running late, but on the corner before us like always?" Kim inquired.

Bonnie frowned for a moment. _Damn it_. Of course Kim would notice that. _So, what are you gonna do now, lie to her? Oh, yeah, that's a great way to set the tone for your dream relationship. Lie to your girlfriend. Lie right to her face_. Internally, Bonnie growled. _Shut up. I'm not going to lie_.

"My dad was talking to me about something," Bonnie said, not exactly a lie. "I didn't want you to leave me, so I just grabbed my breakfast and left."

"I wouldn't leave you," Kim said, practically whispering. This made Bonnie's heart race.

Bonnie smiled. "I really want to… you know… right now."

"Yeah, but that's not appropriate." That was the diplomatic answer. Neither of them had the guts to point out they were not out and did not seem to be willing to be out anytime soon.

Bonnie somewhat liked being in the closet. Kim was her secret that she had all to herself. Not even Ron had access to the Kim she did. No one could ruin this for her, except her. It was kind of nice, except when she wanted to hold hands or clutch Kim's arm or, worst of all, kiss Kim.

"We're still on for tonight, though, right?" Bonnie asked to be sure.

"Yup. Now, get to class before you get marked cutting," Kim answered with an easygoing smile.

A snort escaped Bonnie. "Shouldn't you be worried about that?"

Kim scoffed. "I'm never late or cutting."

Bonnie was not sure how that was possible, but Kim seemed confident and that was good enough for her. They parted ways with a slightly lingering look, breaking off when they realized what they were doing. Bonnie noticed a football player across the hall and she wondered if he saw, if he somehow _knew_. _This is bullshit. I can't even look at her for long or someone is bound to figure out I'm in love with her_. Glaring at the football player, who left right behind Kim, Bonnie went to homeroom.

-8-8-8-8-

The day ran pretty smoothly for Bonnie, despite the rough start. The school day was about to wrap up and all she had to do was make it through cheer practice, which probably would have been better if Kim was there. Kim had texted her right before practice and stated that she was off "doing her thing." Bonnie assumed that meant saving the world because as she looked around, it obviously did not mean practicing despite the fact that there was a game that the weekend and they had a competition soon.

"Can't we take priority just once?" Bonnie huffed, stomping her foot.

"Bonnie, Kim's out saving the world," Tara argued with a smile. Not surprising she would be the one to speak up before Bonnie went on a rant.

"I don't care if she's out saving the universe! Every now and then _we_ should get top priority." Bonnie motioned to the many cheerleaders around. "Some of us actually take _this_ seriously, you know!" Bonnie threw her hands up.

The other cheerleaders decided to leave Bonnie alone, which was wise. She would have spent the whole practice berating Kim if she got the chance and she knew her attitude came from a desire to see Kim, not to have the best practice they ever had. Before they got started, Bonnie noticed the football player from earlier. When they locked eyes, he turned and bolted out of the gym. If he was smart, he was going to his own practice.

Practice went as smooth as it could with one of them missing, especially when that one was the freaking captain. Their coach even praised them, especially Bonnie for keeping everything and everyone together. In the past, Bonnie would have greatly enjoyed the acknowledgement. Right now, Bonnie did not really care about that and barely heard the coach address her.

Bonnie rushed to her phone, wanting to see if Kim called or texted. She especially wanted to know if they were still on for tonight. There were no messages, so she took that to mean they were still on because, surely, Kim was the type of person to let folks know if she had to cancel. As soon as she looked up from her phone, that football player was back. What the hell was his name?

"Can I help you, uh… Trent?" she guessed.

He smiled. "Uh… hi." He gave a weak wave and did not bother to leave his spot in the doorway.

"Hi," she replied, trying her best not to give him attitude, but she was not in the mood for the shy-guy routine. This was the third time she saw him and she had no desire to have to let the guy down gently. "So, can I help you?" she pretty much demanded. _I have a life to get on with_.

"Um… yeah," he said, half-smile in place.

Bonnie almost screamed at him to spit it out, but held her tongue. She was just anxious about Kim and their date. She was not really upset with him… unless, of course, he was there to ask her out. He did seem to be stalking her for the day.

"Sometime today maybe," she huffed. Okay, so that was not very polite, but she needed him to start talking.

He jumped. "Oh… Um… I was just… Well, you… You seem to be friends with Kim Possible."

Bonnie felt herself stiffen. Had he seen something? _Damn it, I have to stop staring at her like a freaking idiot!_

"Yeah?" she replied in a cautious tone, wanting to feel him out. Was he a threat?

"Uh… I was wondering if you could tell me if it's true that she broke up with Josh Mankey. I want to ask her out," he explained, rubbing his palms on his football pants.

This should have made Bonnie feel better. They had not been discovered. He was not about to blackmail her or Kim. But, she just felt jealousy burn a hole in her stomach. How dare this little wimp try to ask _her_ Kim? What made him think he was worthy or deserving?

"Why the hell would I know about Kim's personal life like that?" she huffed, scowling at him.

He yelped and his shoulders actually jumped. If he had been wearing pads, they probably would have flown off. "Oh, but, you're her friend!"

For a moment, Bonnie wondered how this scaredy-cat could even play football. Surely the sight of bigger, more muscular guys had to scare the pants off of him. But, since she knew pretty much every player on every major team, she knew that was not the case. He was a receiver and pretty good at catching the football. Not great, but not horrible either. Not worth knowing either way.

"Yeah. I guess, but I don't know her like that. We only just started hanging out. I don't know who she dates and I don't care about that. Why don't you go ask _her_?" Bonnie sneered.

He yelped again and then ran off. Bonnie scoffed and rolled her eyes. He could not even stand up to her and he thought he could date Kim Possible? _Idiot_.

"Bonnie, you didn't have to be so mean to Todd," Tara said, walking over. She had this disapproving look in her eyes that she often got with Bonnie. It was odd, like she was reprimanding Bonnie, but she was always so nice about it.

Bonnie arched an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Todd." Tara nodded toward the gym door, where the football player had been a second ago.

"Oh. Is that his name? Either way, I wasn't mean," Bonnie replied, frowning a bit.

Shaking her head, Tara gave her _that_ look again. "Yes, you were. He likes Kim and you're Kim's friend. You should've told him the truth."

The eyebrow remained up. "What truth?"

Tara now scoffed and gave Bonnie the "oh, please" look. "We all know Kim broke up with Josh like a month ago. You're her friend, so I know you know. You should've told him. Kim might like to go out with him."

Bonnie scoffed. "He couldn't handle Kim. He couldn't even talk to me."

"Uh… yeah, but Kim's not as scary as you."

This was the second time she had been told she was scary. "I am not scary!" she huffed.

Tara jumped. Okay, so maybe she was, but just a little scary. It worked, so maybe it was all right.

Tara held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, if you say so."

"Besides, if he wants to know about Kim, he should ask her," Bonnie said.

Tara did not argue that, so Bonnie took that as the end of the conversation. She grabbed her things and made her way to the locker room, not wanting to discuss this any further if Tara was not done. Bonnie did not care if some idiot was interested in dating Kim. He was not going to have her, so there was nothing to worry about. _Then, what are you about to worry about? Why are you so worked up?_

Mentally, Bonnie huffed. She was not worried about that idiot. She was worried about Kim canceling their date. And, she was a little frustrated because she had not gotten a chance to really touch Kim at all today. They had not even kissed! It was upsetting. _Okay, yeah, that's the reason_.

"To Hell with you," Bonnie grumbled to the voice in her head. _Wouldn't that be to Hell with you, too, then?_

Bonnie did not analyze it too much. She was fairly certain she was crazy anyway. She just put on her street clothes and was about to head to Kim's house, but remembered Kim would not be there. She could not just show up there and wait. There was no way she was going home, not after having to wake up to the Rockwaller raucous. Even if her father was not home yet, her sisters could be there and they were just as bad.

So, she went to the library. At least there, she would be able to get her homework out of the way if Kim ever decided to let her know if their date was still on. She had to hope her friends did not come hunting for her, too. They knew if she was nowhere to be found then she was at the library and they knew exactly how to tempt her away. She got to work and managed to make it through everything.

Just as she was about to pack up and head home, her phone chimed. She saw it was a text from Kim. She quickly opened it, fumbling through her password to do so.

"Where are you?" the message asked.

"The library."

"Stay there and I'll come pick you up."

Bonnie did not ask how Kim would pick her up, assuming Kim was allowed to borrow the family's car again. That suited her just fine. So, she waited, until she got a text informing her that Kim was right outside. She left to find Kim had her father's car again.

"I'm really surprised your father keeps letting you drive his car," Bonnie said.

"He understood it was for a good cause. He didn't like the idea of you walking home from the library after dark," Kim explained with a smile.

Bonnie smiled back. The Possible family was just too darling. "So, where are we off to?"

"Change of plans. I think you'll like this."

Bonnie decided to see what Kim had planned. Kim was pretty good at unconventional dates. But, as it turned out, this one was pretty conventional. Kim drove to the movie theater. She paid for their tickets, so Bonnie did not even know what movie they were going to see. She assumed it was something Kim could not see with Ron.

"Where do you want to sit?" Bonnie asked Kim as they entered the theater for the latest rom-com, definitely not a movie Ron would be caught dead in.

"Come on." Kim took her hand and tugged her to the back. "Right here." She pointed to the two corner seats.

"Here?" Premium seats, these were not.

"Yeah, trust me."

Bonnie shrugged and sat in the corner seat. Kim rushed off to go get snacks before Bonnie could object. When Kim came back, she had candy and popcorn. She sat down next to Bonnie and smiled. Bonnie smiled back.

"I got you some skittles. Those are all right, right?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, I love skittles."

"I thought so." Kim passed her the bag of skittles and sat up a little straighter. She looked very pleased with her.

Bonnie did not see why Kim had changed their date to the movies until the lights went down. And, then, Kim grabbed her hand and held it tight. Her thumb made small, gentle circles around Bonnie's hand. And every few seconds, Kim leaned over, like she was whispering to Bonnie about the movie, but actually gave her soft kisses along her jaw. In the dark of the theater, no one was the wiser as to what the two girls were doing. By the end of the movie, Bonnie felt the stress of the day gone.

"That was good," Bonnie sighed contently.

"The movie?" Kim asked with a teasing smile.

Bonnie laughed. "Yeah, the movie." She rolled her eyes. She had no idea what happened in the movie, nor did she care.

Kim did not say anything, just laughed right along with Bonnie. They got into the car and Kim took Bonnie's hand. In the dark of the car, she leaned down and kissed Bonnie's knuckles and did not have to worry about prying eyes.

"Bonnie, you're not the only one who wants to touch when we're outside," Kim confessed.

Bonnie inhaled sharply. Did Kim crave her like she did Kim? She held onto Kim's hand tighter and reached over to caress Kim's cheek. They stared at each other for a long time before headlights hit them from a few cars down. It was just someone pulling out of their parking space, but it was enough to break the moment.

"I know holding hands might attract attention, which I'm not sure you want right now, but maybe every now and then, I can touch your elbow or your arm," Kim suggested, ducking her head for a moment, as if this was some scandalous taboo she mentioned.

"I'd like that. Maybe I could do the same," Bonnie said. "Or sometimes I can pretend to fix your hair and just ran my fingers through it?" She would very much like that. In fact, she decided to do it right then and there.

Kim nodded. "And you should know whenever I smile at you when there's people around, I'm just kissing you from a distance."

Bonnie sat up a little straighter from that news. This was so corny and hokey and just tooth-rottingly sweet. If some guy had said this to Bonnie, she probably would have left, but a blush burned her cheeks as Kim said it and she found herself waiting for those smiles.

"Now, I should get you and then my dad's car home. He probably thinks I crashed the thing by now," Kim remarked as she started the car.

"I'm sure he knows you didn't. You're responsible and you can do anything," Bonnie replied. _Like crack my shell and melt my heart_.

Kim grinned. "Stop thinking rationally. You know my dad doesn't do that when it comes to me."

Bonnie laughed since it was so true. Mr. Possible was very different from Bonnie's father. He definitely was not mad at the world. He was a little goofy and sweet, words Bonnie would never associate with her father.

The evening was nice and Bonnie did not want it to end when they pulled up to her house. She was tempted to ask Kim about the public touching and why they were not doing it. She understood why she was doing it, but she did not know Kim's motives and she was curious. But, she did not want to ruin such a lovely date night.

"Goodnight, Bonnie," Kim said as Bonnie opened the door and then she smiled at Bonnie.

Bonnie's heart beat just a little harder, even as she entered her house. Her dad was yelling about something again and her mother seemed to come out of nowhere in an attempt to baby her, trying to take her bag from her. Bonnie waved her mother off.

"I have it, Mom," she insisted, holding onto the strap of her book bag.

"Bon-Bon, where have you been? You missed dinner again," her mother huffed, but it was not a true huff. The woman seemed to have anger problems in the sense that she could not truly get angry. It was possibly her way of dealing with her husband, but Bonnie was not sure. Her mother could argue, but it took a lot to get her there and even then, she did not seem to be angry. This probably was not healthy.

"I ate out," Bonnie replied. _Oh, that sounds dirty. I bet you do wish you ate out_. Internally, Bonnie growled. _Shut up_.

"Oh, I'd wish you call when you make these decisions. Just like Connie. She's missed dinner and your father just keeps complaining about how it's a waste of money," her mother fretted, clicking her tongue.

Bonnie shook her head. "There are these things called leftovers."

Bonnie's mother just shook her head. She did not believe in leftovers, the same way Ron did not believe in homework, or maybe even more so. Ron did homework every now and then. Her mother made a new meal every night. Maybe it was a distraction from her chaotic world or maybe it was because Bonnie's father insisted on it. Bonnie did not know and for the moment, did not care.

She disappeared upstairs to her room, closing the door, shutting out the noise, and the world. Sighing, she threw herself on her bed. Kim smiled at her in front of her house. She still felt giddy inside.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Needing

Today was hectic and that was being kind. Ron had been spending a lot of time with Felix since she was with Bonnie. This was not the problem. The problem was that while Ron and Felix were hanging out, idiots Drakken and Motor Ed decided to steal Felix's wheelchair. Could they be any lower?

Added to that, she was a little worried about Bonnie. Why the hell had Bonnie been on the corner with her breakfast? Something was weird there.

She had allowed this to distract her a little while she was out trying to get Felix's wheelchair back. Seriously, who the hell stole a wheelchair? With that on her mind, she forgot to text Bonnie, wanting to let her know the their date was still on.

By the time she got back from the mission, there was no way for them to do her original date idea anyway. Instead, she had an idea she thought Bonnie would like. She noticed the looks of longing Bonnie gave her that morning and she knew what she wanted to do since seeing Bonnie that morning, too. So, she knew what needed to be done.

Being able to cuddle in the movie theater was nice. She wished they could do that more often, but she could imagine the fuss everyone in school would make. She was used to being made fun of, but usually by Bonnie. She doubted Bonnie would never know what to do with being made fun of. So, instead of saying they should just touch when they want to, Kim offered up solutions that Bonnie seemed fine with.

At the end of the night, after dropping Bonnie off, Kim returned home. Her father was actually waiting by the front window. She almost laughed as she passed him the key.

"I thought you were just picking Bonnie up from the library," he said.

"We went to see a movie and then I drove her home," Kim replied, trying not to sigh contently after that. It was a great date, even though she had no idea what happened in the movie.

"Kimmie," he said in a stern voice.

"Dad, the car's fine and I called Mom about the movie, so she knew where I was." She also would not tell Kim to return the car because her mother knew she was over the age of ten.

"So, she knew you were going to out after your curfew?"

"Yeah, Dad. I'm sorry. I thought she told you."

He tapped his chin, meaning she probably did tell him and he just forgot because he was worried. Kim just smiled at him and hugged him. He chuckled and patted her on the back.

"Thanks for worrying, Dad." After a day where idiots actually stole a wheelchair and she could not touch Bonnie because someone might have a problem with it, it was nice someone cared enough to be concerned about her.

Her father only smiled and she ran off. She trudged up to her room and threw herself on her bed. Her thoughts went right to Bonnie. Just as she had done with her father, she had left Bonnie hanging for the day. She needed to let Bonnie know she cared, too. Taking out her Kimmunicator, she quickly texted Bonnie one simple message. "*Hugs*"

Bonnie sent back a smiley face. "*Kisses*"

Kim smiled. This thing she and Bonnie had and were building made her feel so good inside. There was just something about the way Bonnie treated her and responded to her was amazing. She hoped she made Bonnie feel this awesome on the inside.

"Sorry for disappearing for most of the day," Kim wrote.

"It's fine. I understand. But, thanks for keeping our date."

Kim smiled more, hurting her cheeks just a little more. Most people did not understand. It had taken her a long time to get teachers to believe her and law enforcement had to see her in action several times to take her seriously. But, Bonnie just accepted it.

"Try not to miss cheer practice from now on, though," Bonnie added.

Kim laughed. _I really want this to work_. She had not considered that until this very moment. Now, she had to do her best to make sure Bonnie really did understand and she needed to make sure she made Bonnie feel as important as she was.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Monique comes in and doesn't click with Bonnie. It might cause some waves between Kim and Bonnie.


	5. Hold

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

5: Hold

Bonnie was on her way to Kim's locker. She paused because Monique was there. This was not something she was used to. Yes, Kim hung around Monique, but Bonnie was not usually there. Monique had other activities she did to keep her busy and away from Kim. Not to mention, Bonnie had other activities, which kept her away from Kim when Monique was around.

Bonnie was not sure if she should go over now. Monique was vaguely aware Kim and Bonnie were friends, but she did not approve. Monique seemed to think the friendship was some elaborate setup and Bonnie was going to somehow pull the greatest, evilest prank ever. Bonnie was a little flattered that Monique thought she could play the long game like that, but Bonnie knew her strengths and waiting around was not one of them.

Bonnie planned to turn around and just go to her next class, but Kim waved her over with a smile. Bonnie could not resist that smile, so she went over. On her way there, she noted Todd — the football player who seemed to be stalking Kim — stood off to the side. Apparently, Kim had a line of people waiting to see her.

"Hey, Bonnie," Kim said, still smiling like today was the best day ever.

"Hey," Bonnie replied. She glanced at Monique. "Hey."

Monique made a noise, but did not say anything. She folded her arms across her chest and gave Bonnie a sneer before turning her attention back to Kim. Bonnie ignored the attitude. Monique could go live by the code "the former enemy of my friend is my enemy" all she wanted.

"You know you have a fan club, Possible," Bonnie said, nodding in the direction of Todd.

"Fan club?" Kim looked over at the football player, who stiffened and yelped. He rushed off while Kim's forehead wrinkled. "Todd?"

"He's trying to figure out if you broke up with Josh and if he can move on Josh's territory," Bonnie replied with a smirk.

"Territory?" Kim frowned and looked at Bonnie, who only smirked more. This made Kim frown more.

"Maybe you should take him up on that. Boy is fine," Monique commented, looking at Todd.

Bonnie scoffed. Todd was about as handsome as any other boy in their school. He was tall and well-built with an oval shaped face. He had wavy black hair, which was kind of cute, but nothing to write home about. He was just a guy. Monique looked at Bonnie.

"What are you, over here to start trouble so you can steal that one from Kim, too?" Monique accused her.

Bonnie laughed nervously. So, Monique picked up on the fact that Bonnie only chased guys who liked Kim? Bonnie looked at Kim, who had a smug expression on her face. Okay, so maybe Kim picked up on that fact and then shared it with Monique. Wow. This was a little embarrassing.

"Uh, you know, I should get to class," Bonnie said, glancing away for a moment. She could feel a blush beginning to burn her cheeks and she did not want them to see. She reached out and briefly touched Kim's arm before rushing off. She could do without seeing Monique again, but that was not in the cards.

-8-8-8-8-

"Bonnie, we're going to Bueno Nacho. You coming?" Kim asked, playfully linking arms with Bonnie after school. She gave Bonnie an impish smile, which made her relax a little and hopefully made people think the arm-link was friendly and nothing more.

"Sure," Bonnie replied. Any excuse to be near Kim for a while worked. Besides, she would like to see Rufus beat Ron at a nacho race again, if only to teach the kid to be humble about things that were not even talents.

"Good," Kim said and pulled Bonnie outside where Ron, Rufus, and Monique awaited them.

"Whoa, you didn't say anything about her coming," Monique said, holding up a hand. Her dark eyes glared at Bonnie as if she were an agent of evil. And, given the right circumstances, she might have been right.

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing," Bonnie snapped, glaring right back.

"Guys, can we just hang out without a fight?" Kim asked, poking out her bottom lip a little. Even this little pout was enough to warm Bonnie just enough to give into the hero, but she decided to stay the course. Why should she be subjected to someone who judged her without knowing her? Sure, she did that all the time, but it was expected of her!

Bonnie huffed and folded her arms across her chest. Monique did the same thing. Kim sighed and reached out, running her fingers against Bonnie's elbow for just a second. Even with her jacket sleeve in the way, Kim's fingers still had an effect. Bonnie's insides quivered from the light and brief touch. _Damn it_. Fine!

"I don't have to talk to her or look at her," Bonnie conceded.

"Not that I'd want to talk to you," Monique replied with a sneer.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. Kim tapped her elbow again and she at least unfolded her arms. Kim gave her a small smile and Bonnie did her best to act sour. It did not work, though. It was just so damned hard to be upset with Kim so close and smiling at her.

The group walked to Bueno Nacho. Everyone ordered, got their food, and they sat down. Bonnie felt a little out of the group as the three friends started talking. Sighing, Bonnie played with a nacho in her nacho salad while resting her chin in her free hand.

"Oh, are we boring the queen?" Monique said with an arched eyebrow.

Bonnie glared at her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you didn't want to talk to me," she replied.

"Mo," Kim sighed while her hand eased its way to Bonnie's knee. It was under the table, so no one would notice, especially since they were next to each other. "You promised you'd be nice to Bonnie."

"I don't trust her," Monique declared, giving Bonnie a pointed stare.

"Bonnie's cool now," Ron actually vouched for her.

"Cool!" Rufus chimed in before stuffing just a gob of melted cheese in his face.

"Look, she just shows up out of nowhere trying to be your friend after years of tormenting you and we're supposed to just accept that? Added to that, she comes up to you to tell you about this dude sniffing after you like we don't know she chases guys just to hurt you?" Monique said with a sneer curled on her lip.

"Wow, you do?" Ron said. Apparently, he did not do "girl talk" with Kim or Monique had managed to notice this bad habit of Bonnie's on her own.

"It's not that serious," Kim argued, giving Monique a pleading, wide-eyed look.

"It is. She purposely hurts you all the time and now you just want to be friends? Come on, Kim," Monique barked back.

"I acknowledged that and explained to Kim what that was all about. Maybe you should respect her enough to respect her decision," Bonnie growled.

Monique reeled back and glared even harder, if it was possible. "I know you're not talking about respect! You haven't respected Kim since you met and now you're pretending like you know my girl like that?" She pointed at Bonnie. "You listen to me, I'm not one to sit back and just let my friends get hurt, so you can spout all this crap all you want, but I know you. You're a snake and you've bitten Kim too many times to change. You're a snake, full of venom and poison, and you'll always be a snake."

Bonnie opened her mouth to argue, but found she had nothing. People did not change and she was a snake. She was bred from snakes, raised by vipers. Why should she be any different? Abandoning her food, Bonnie stood up.

"Bonnie…" Kim said, looking up at her.

"Rufus, you can have my nachos," Bonnie said before taking off.

Bonnie was fairly certain she had Rufus cheer, which she expected. He got free nachos out of this whole mess, after all. She heard Kim and Ron, surprisingly enough, call after her. She just moved faster, needing to be as far from them as possible at the moment. She did not make it far. Just outside, she felt Kim on her elbow, gently guiding her off the left, away from the prying eyes watching them through the front windows.

"Kim, just let me go!" Bonnie yanked her limb away from the hero.

"Then wait up and talk to me," Kim insisted, moving in front of Bonnie and blocking her path.

"What's to talk about? Monique's right. This isn't going to work. This was never going to work. You're perfect and I'm…" Bonnie could hear her sisters. _Useless… worthless… stupid… ugly_. In short, not worthy of Kim Possible, not as girlfriend or friend. Why had she even tried?

"I'm not perfect," Kim hissed. "I'm far from perfect and you know that best of all because you're the person who used to pull the imperfect right out of me. None of us are perfect and Monique's not right. You're not the person she thinks you are or that you pretended to be."

"Pretended? You think I was pretending to be mean to you?" It was not a pretense in the slightest. All of her bitchiness was real and was still real.

"No, but I think you were forcing it. Bonnie, I know I don't know a lot about you, but I want to. And I really want to have a discussion about this, but not in the middle of Bueno Nacho. So, can you just come back inside and we can talk when we go to do homework?" Kim pled.

Bonnie glanced inside, seeing Ron talking to Monique. "I don't think I'm ready to do that."

Kim studied her. "Ready to do what? Go back in, talk, or share more about yourself?"

"All of the above. I've got Spanish homework I really need to get to. I'm going to go to the library. I'll see you later." Bonnie reached out and just grabbed Kim's hand for a moment, wanting her to know it was not as bad as it seemed.

"Bonnie…" Kim actually whimpered.

"Just let me go for now, okay? I need time."

Smiling, Kim nodded. "Call me?"

Bonnie nodded and rushed off, needing to be away now. She was a little pleased that Kim had chased after her the first time and let her go this time. Clearly Kim was truly interested in her and invested in their relationship, but really, should she be? Bonnie came from a household that was poisonous and proved herself to be poisonous in the most horrible way, hurting the one she loved the most. Did she know any different? How could she know any different?

Sitting in the library, Bonnie barely saw the Spanish work in front of her. All she could think about was Kim. Maybe Kim should go out with Todd. While Bonnie did not know his name until recently, she was led to believe he was a stand up guy. Probably less of a flake than Josh, not that it took much to be less of a flake than him.

Dating Todd would probably be good for Kim. She would not have worry about becoming a social pariah, which was a distinct possibility if someone ever figured out she and Kim were dating. Maybe she should find out more about Todd. Tara seemed to know him pretty well. She would ask her about the guy later.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie had chemistry lab with Tara, which was an adventure to say the least. While Tara was not an idiot like her cheery, bubbly personality suggested, she was very much a "let's try it to find out" type of scientist. She would probably get along very well with Kim's brothers. For Bonnie, she just made her nervous when they got chemicals out. Sometimes, Bonnie wished more than goggles were a requirement.

"So, Tara, you know Todd, right?" Bonnie asked, trying to sound casual and also distract Tara from the fact that the teacher put new chemicals on the table.

"Todd? Yeah. He's in my math class," Tara answered.

Bonnie wondered how he was there. "Do you think I should tell Kim he's interested? He just keeps lingering around her and it's kinda creepy."

Tara shrugged. "If you can do it without being mean, yeah. He's okay. I mean, he's cute and he can spell his name."

Bonnie laughed. "And you say I'm mean?"

Tara smiled. "I couldn't resist, but no, he's a good guy. He was asking me about Kim the other day. I didn't think he liked her until you said something. I just thought he was curious, I guess. I think it's good. Usually, guys are only interested in Kim when they think she's into them."

That was actually pretty true. Brick only cared about Kim when he thought Kim wanted him. Josh had to be a blind man to not see Kim's crush and that was just about the only time he said a word to her. Before that, he was too cool to glance in her direction. There were a couple of others before them with the same story, only wanting to go with Kim when they found out she was interested. _What the hell is wrong with guys? Kim is amazing and they're just bypassing her for whatever reason_. Bonnie did not even want to think about it.

"So, I should tell Kim? Maybe she'll go to him and he can stop acting like some creepy stalker," Bonnie said.

"He's just shy, maybe!" Tara giggled and then she thought on it for a moment, twisting her mouth up. "Maybe you should leave it to him. Kim should see that guys are into her, right? I mean, I'd like a guy to come up to me and tell me he likes me rather than my friend passing me a note about it or something."

Eying the lab table like she wanted to burn a hole in it, Bonnie sighed. "I guess."

Tara studied her for a moment, furrowing her brow furrowed and squinting her eyes. "Why'd you change your mind? I thought you wanted him to go up to her."

Bonnie shook her head. "I just feel a little guilty and I'm not used to that. I mean, I'm trying to be her friend. I've been a real jerk to her, so now I want to make up for it."

Nodding, Tara grinned. "That's awesome. I'm glad you decided to be nice to Kim. She's great. I still think you should let him go to Kim."

Bonnie nodded and was about to say something, but the teacher scolded them to start the experiment. It was at that point Tara noticed they had equipment in front of them. A light groan escaped Bonnie as the blond picked up two bickers and got to work.

 _So, you're just going to give Kim away now? You spent all this time agonizing over her and you're just going to hand her over to some dumb football player? Some dumb football player who probably only wants her because some other idiot whispered in his ear that Kim has a crush on him or something else just as stupid. Really? This is what we're doing now?_

Bonnie drowned out the voice in her head. She was trying to do the right thing. Why should she drag Kim down? Why should she poison Kim even worse than before? It was not like she knew how to have a healthy relationship anyway. Everything before now was forced and faked. If she got into something real, she would probably just turn into her father or something, screaming at people for no reason other than the fact that he hated himself. Was that not the reason she picked on Kim anyway? She hated herself and took it out on Kim. Well, never again.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie had avoided Kim since the Bueno Nacho incident two days ago. She needed to get herself together as she was about to suggest maybe Kim might want to try dating Todd. She found there was no "getting herself together" and figured it just needed to be done like a band-aid. So, she marched up to Kim and did not make it to say anything because Monique came out of nowhere.

"Kim, I told you not to trust this snake," Monique hissed as she marched over. She shoved Bonnie in the shoulder.

"Monique!" Kim cried out and put herself in between Monique and Bonnie.

"She's been asking around about the guy who likes you. She's probably going to try to steal him like she always does," Monique accused Bonnie, pointing at her over Kim's shoulder.

"Monique, calm down," Kim pled.

"She's doing it again! Can't you see that? The whole reason this _snake_ became your friend was just to hurt you again, hurt you even worse than before because now she's betraying you, too!" Monique pointed out.

"Monique, come here," Kim said, pulling Monique away. "Bonnie, homework!" she called as she retreated.

Bonnie got the message and sighed. Now, she had to tell Kim to go date someone else while in her bedroom and thinking about how she just wanted to kiss Kim silly. But, it would probably be better to do this alone and in private. There was a huge possibility that she would cry, after all. No one needed to see that.

-8-8-8-8-

"Bonnie, it's been a few days," Mrs. Possible noted as she opened the door to Bonnie.

"Yeah, I've been busy," Bonnie lied. Well, not really lied since she had been busy avoiding Kim.

Mrs. Possible gave her a smile. "Well, it's good to see you. Are you going to stay for dinner?"

"No, probably not. I don't think I'm going to be here that long."

Mrs. Possible's face scrunched up, but Bonnie did not stick around to explain. She rushed up to Kim's room, not even knocking on the door or the wall as she went up the stairs. Kim was on the floor, doing her work. Olive eyes went up as soon as Bonnie was standing in the room.

"Hey, sweetheart," Kim said with a smile.

Bonnie sighed and tugged awkwardly at her book bag strap. "Hey…"

Kim was up in a shot and standing in front of Bonnie before she could even comprehend that Kim moved. She put an arm around Bonnie's waist and Bonnie stepped away. Bonnie focused on the floor, but she could feel Kim's eyes on her.

"Sweetie, talk to me," Kim begged.

"I've been thinking. Monique's right. You don't know me, Kim. You think you do, but you don't. I'm bad news. I'm terrible and I don't want to hurt you any more than I have, so I think it's best if I just leave you alone from now on," Bonnie said in a rush, but her voice was low and sort of mumbled.

"Leave me?" Kim echoed and then she sounded angry. "Was this the trick, Bonnie? Make me care about you and then rip my heart out?" she demanded.

Bonnie felt a burning jolt go through her and set fire in her belly. Her head snapped up on it's own and she stared into fiery olive eyes. "Of course not! Do you honestly believe I could or would do something like that?"

"What am I supposed to believe?" Kim threw her arms up and paced for a moment. "You do these things and then you come here ready to just dump me? What the hell?" she growled. "That's the old Bonnie! That's the Bonnie I know from the past years! My Bonnie, the one I've been around the past two months, wouldn't just leave me without talking it out! She wouldn't decide my emotions without me! She wouldn't give me a chance or give herself a chance!"

" _Your_ Bonnie isn't real!" Bonnie snarled, making a fist. "That's what you need to understand. That first bitch, _that_ Bonnie is Bonnie."

Suddenly, Kim grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. Bonnie whimpered as Kim held her, cradling the back of her head with a gentle hand. It felt so good to be in her arms, even while angry with her.

" _My_ Bonnie _is_ Bonnie. I don't know what makes you think you're poisonous, but you're not. I need you to believe that," Kim whispered, her fingers tenderly massaging Bonnie's scalp.

"I'm no good, Kim. I'm really no good," Bonnie muttered.

"No, you're better," Kim said. She pulled away just enough to look Bonnie in the face. "You have so much to offer and I plan to make sure you know it. You have so much inside you, sweetie. And, it's good. There's good in you."

Bonnie shook her head as tears gathered in her eyes. "How?" she croaked.

"Because _you_ decide who you want to be. Just like you decided to be my friend and then you decided to be my enemy and then you decided to pour your heart out to me. That takes strength, courage, and _decisions_. You made things happen. You." Kim put her hand on Bonnie's cheek and stroked it with her thumb, wiping away fallen tears.

Bonnie sniffled. "I'm no good…"

Kim kissed her softly. "You're very good. I need you to have faith in yourself and faith in me. You trust me, right?"

"Uh-huh…" Bonnie whimpered and nodded a little.

"Then give us a chance and give yourself a chance. I don't make it a point to put my energy into failing projects," Kim remarked, laughing a little.

Bonnie laughed, too, and nodded. Kim pulled her in close again and sat them down right there on the floor. Bonnie curled into her. Kim ran her fingers through Bonnie's hair and it felt good, soothing.

"I spoke to Monique. It'll take her a while to come around, but she won't talk to you like that anymore," Kim promised.

"There's free speech," Bonnie mumbled.

"Yeah, but you mean a lot to me and I need Monique to understand that."

Those words made Bonnie feel really good on the inside and she looked at Kim with wide eyes. "Did you tell her I mean a lot to you?"

"I said that. I want her to know you're my friend and you're going to be around. She thinks you're trying to steal another boy from me. Todd Peters, I think." Kim laughed, obviously knowing how ridiculous that was.

"I'm not interested. Hell, I didn't even know what his name was until Tara told me. How did Monique hear this?"

"She's got some friend in your lab who heard you talking about it to Tara. So, this Todd guy likes me?"

Bonnie nodded. "I thought you might go out with him."

"What, after you dumped me?" Kim scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Well, yeah." It made sense to her, even now.

"Well, since you're not dumping me, I don't think I'll be dating him."

A small smile sneaked its way onto Bonnie's face. "I'm not dumping you?"

"No, you're not. We're in this together for the long haul. After all, you're the one who forced me on a date to start this whole thing. You can't back out on me now," Kim commented with a light chuckle.

"I guess not." Why should she try to back out on Kim if Kim wanted her there? The amazing Kim Possible wanted her.

Kim kissed the side of her head. "Good. Now, take out your books. Let's get this homework out of the way because you owe me at least three days worth of kissing."

Bonnie laughed. Despite Kim telling her to take out her books, Kim did not let her go for a few minutes. She did not complain.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: The Lines

Kim had not thought things would go so horribly wrong when she called Bonnie over while Monique was there. It was just they did not get many chances to see each other during the day and she really wanted to spend a couple of spare seconds with Bonnie. For some reason, having Bonnie next to her settled a chaos that lived inside of her, the chaos that drove her into action all of the time. When Bonnie was next to her, she felt like she could just stop and savor the moment. It was beautiful thing.

Unfortunately, it did not last. Monique had managed to drive off Kim's peace of mind and she knew Monique would think she was crazy if she said that, but it needed to be said. She would not have any more days without Bonnie around just because Monique had a problem. So, she had to talk to Monique.

Pulling Monique away before she and Bonnie got into a thing in the middle of the hallway seemed like the best time to have a real conversation with Monique. She had tried before at Bueno Nacho, but Ron and Rufus were too much of a distraction. Now, she wrangled Monique into a quiet corner of the hallway.

"What the hell are you doing?" Monique demanded. "You're really trying to keep me from telling Bonnie of all people off?"

Kim nodded. "Yes, and please, keep your voice down." While she had no intent on telling Monique the full extent of her relationship with Bonnie, she still would like to have something that resembled a private conversation. The whole school did not need to know what they were discussing, after all.

"Why, Kim? What the hell? You know better than anyone what that little monster is!" Monique hissed.

Kim pinned her friend with a glare. "She's not a little monster. She's my friend and she means a lot to me. I know she's done horrible things in the past, but she's moving passed that and trying to be a better person. You're not helping the situation by acting like she can't change."

"She can't! A leopard doesn't change its spots."

"Yes, but snakes shed their skin for a more comfortable fit," Kim countered.

Monique frowned. "You a philosopher now, too?"

"No, but I believe in the good in people and I believe in giving people second chances. I've been hanging around Bonnie for a while now and it's been good. Like I said, she means a lot to me now. So, can you just try to be nice to her?" Kim requested.

Monique scoffed. "Girl, I never imagined you were this naive. Hell, no, I'm not going to be nice to her, so I can watch her stab you in the back! She's already chasing after your boy and we know how that always turns out."

Kim frowned. "First off, he's not 'my' boy." She looked around to make sure he was not there. His habit of stalking her was a little creepy to say the least. Yes, she heard he was shy, but there was shy and then there was psychotic. She feared he was the latter.

"He wanna be your boy."

"But, I don't want him and Bonnie doesn't either."

Monique snorted. "Really, Kim?" she gave Kim a deadpan look.

"Okay, believe what you want, Mo, I can't change your mind about that, but I need you to act like you have some manners around Bonnie," Kim stated.

"Until she stabs you in the back, right?"

Sighing, Kim shrugged. "If she stabs me in the back, Mo, you can say 'I told you so' for the rest of our natural lives. Okay?"

"Look, girl, you know I'm not trying to give you a hard time or anything. I just think this is a bad move and I want to look out for you," Monique replied. Clearly she was not after universal bragging rights.

"I appreciate that, but if it is a bad move, I want to make it myself." It did not feel like a bad move. She missed her peace. She missed Bonnie, the only person she could slow down with and would slow down for.

Monique rubbed her forehead. "Fine. If it means that much to you. I'm gonna _try_ to try." That was not very promising, but it was more than before.

"Thank you." Kim smiled.

"Girl, a friend is there when you fall to help you get back up, but a true friend will try to make sure you don't fall at all."

Kim arched an eyebrow. "Yet, I'm the one being accused of being a philosopher. Let's go before we're late."

Smiling, Monique nodded. Well, it would seem her friendship with Monique was saved and Monique would at least try to get along with Bonnie. Now, she had to save her relationship with Bonnie… as soon as she could get Bonnie to stop avoiding her. She did not want to end up like Todd and start stalking Bonnie with the hopes it would get her to talk.

"She needs time. I'll give her time and space and with luck she'll come to me, like before," Kim told herself. Of course, if Bonnie did not come to her, then she was not sure what she could do.

Regardless of what happened, Kim was certain of one thing — Bonnie was worth fighting for. Bonnie did not seem to agree, but Kim knew it to be true and she wanted Bonnie to believe it as well. She did not care how long it would take, but she wanted Bonnie to know she was worthwhile.

"Who would've thought I'd need to show Bonnie how valuable she was," Kim muttered. But, whatever. She was on it now.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Kim's missions take away from her time with Bonnie and Bonnie does not fare well.


	6. Midnight

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

6: Midnight

With matters settled on her and Kim dating, Bonnie found herself relaxing somewhat. She was doing better in school, bringing in better test grades and even participating a little in some of her more favorite classes. Her math teacher was surprised to find she had a working brain and seemed to think Kim was tutoring her. She let him think that. His opinion on why she was improving did not matter. The fact that she was improving did.

"Do you see these grades?" Bonnie asked, holding up test papers for Kim to see. She and Kim were in Kim's room, doing their work as usual. She had several tests with her and none of them were below an eighty-four grade.

Kim nodded. "You're improving."

Bonnie laughed because Kim barely glanced at the papers and did not sound impressed. Kim did not even try to fake it, but Bonnie did not care. She knew showing Kim 80s for grades probably went right over Kim's head. Kim considered anything less than a hundred a failure for herself, not that Bonnie had seen her get anything less than a hundred to find this out personally. Just like everything else, Kim got perfect grades.

"I _am_ improving. I might actually become a B student at this rate," Bonnie said, sitting up a little prouder. She wished she had befriended Kim sooner, if only to improve her grades and her attitude toward her grades. No, she might never be as smart as Connie or get the grades she got, but she could be much better than average. It was all right to try, it was all right to be better.

"I'm sure you will. You're diligent in your work now," Kim pointed out. Leaning over, she kissed Bonnie on the lips for no reason. She utterly and thoroughly enjoyed the way Kim liked showing affection and faith in Bonnie.

"Well, yes, I have someone pushing me to work instead of play _all_ the time now," Bonnie said with a smile.

"Playing can be fun, too, though," Kim said and she was about lean in for another kiss, but her Kimmunicator went off. Bonnie jumped from the sudden noise while Kim pulled back and groaned. "Hold my spot," she joked as she reached into her pocket.

Bonnie laughed a little. Kim answered her Kimmunicator and, of course, she had a mission. She offered Bonnie a sad smile as she put the device back into her pocket.

"It's all right. Go save the world, hero," Bonnie said, giving Kim her own kiss.

"I'm sorry," Kim apologized anyway.

Giving Kim an encouraging smile, Bonnie waved her away. "Just get going."

Kim smiled back and rushed off. Bonnie gathered her things, planning to walk home. When she had the main floor, Kim's parents were there and they volunteered to drive Bonnie home.

"It's all right. I can walk," Bonnie insisted. It would take longer and it just meant more time before she had to deal with her family. It was a good situation for her.

"It's all right. I have to go to the hospital, anyway," Mrs. Possible replied.

"Are you sure?"

"It's fine, dear. I'm headed out."

"Besides, we would feel a lot better knowing you made it safely to your door," Mr. Possible added with a kind smile of his own.

Bonnie nodded and accepted. She expected the generous behavior and kind words from them, but it was still a little shocking to hear them. Her own father would never offer to drive her anywhere. She was not sure if her mother even knew how to drive to offer it. She had never seen her mother behind the wheel of a car.

Bonnie left with Mrs. Possible, sliding into the front passenger seat of the simple sedan. It was a little funny that Mrs. Possible was actually a world-renowned neurosurgeon and she drove a car similar to many of the seniors at Middleton High. It was not fancy or pretentious. It suited her.

Bonnie shook those thoughts away and did her best not to squirm when Mrs. Possible glanced at her. Mrs. Possible was probably just checking to make sure she had her seatbelt on, but it felt like something more. She felt like Mrs. Possible just read her in one glance. Bonnie still felt like this extremely intelligent woman knew about her and Kim. She felt like it was written on her forehead that she was in love with Kim.

"I'm sorry Kimmie had to run out on you," Mrs. Possible said as they were on their way.

"It's fine. The world's more important than my homework," Bonnie replied honestly.

Mrs. Possible smiled. "It's good that you're so understanding of it. Kimmie's driven to be helpful. She's always been that way."

"Well, that and a need to be the best at everything she does," Bonnie added. She was not trying to take anything away from the hero, but Kim needed to save the world for more than just the kindness in her heart. Kim jumped into these things to prove she was the best. Bonnie did not hold that against her. She understood it to a degree.

"She's a good kid," Mrs. Possible said, as if defending Kim.

Bonnie smiled. "She is." If Kim was not good, Bonnie would have been left to stew in her own hatred when she reached out to Kim.

The doctor gave her another glance and smiled a little. "I'm glad you're friends with her now."

Bonnie blinked. "You are?" _Why?_ She almost asked that out loud, but managed to hold it in. Maybe Mrs. Possible did not know about the things she had put Kim through.

Mrs. Possible nodded. "Yes. Kim's been much happier now that you're friends with her instead of trying to tear her down."

Blue-green eyes looked down at her feet as she felt shame burn every bit of her insides. Bonnie squirmed in her seat, partially wishing she could just shrink out of sight. It hurt being reminded that she had caused Kim so much grief and pain.

"She told you about that?" Bonnie asked, her voice lower than usual.

Mrs. Possible shrugged as best she could with both hands on the wheel. "Kim complains like any other person. Maybe not as much as other people, but she does complain."

"But… you've always been nice to me," Bonnie blurted out. She figured Mrs. Possible would be upset with her if she knew about Bonnie tormenting Kim for basically their entire history together.

"Kimmie can fight her own battles," Mrs. Possible pointed out.

"That's true. Well, I'm done with that," Bonnie promised. She had no desire or impulse to do anything to Kim beyond love and cherish her.

"I figured as much. Like I said, Kim's been happier and she definitely has faith in you. She's enjoying your company and you're actually what I expected," Mrs. Possible said.

Bonnie's brow furrowed. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, the times I've had the chance to interact with you, you're never been the way Kimmie described, especially when you got the chance to come with me to the hospital. You seemed so attentive, eager to learn."

"I was!" Bonnie could not help grinning. It seemed like such a small thing, shadowing the doctor for a few days thanks to the school's job fair. But, Mrs. Possible made sure she understood the big things she did at the hospital as well as the little things. There was that attention thing and Bonnie had not needed to act out to get it.

Mrs. Possible tittered. "I could tell, especially when you showed up with a notepad the second day. I know being a teenager is hard. You seemed like you shed some of the armor you wore while you were at the hospital."

Bonnie nodded shyly. What the heck was it with these Possible people being so insightful and noticing things? Was this what it was like when someone did not think the world revolved around them or when they were not constantly seeking approval?

"Are you happier being around Kim?" Mrs. Possible asked.

"Yes!" Bonnie blurted out without thinking. _Oh, crap. Now, she's definitely going to think something's going on_.

Mrs. Possible chuckled a little. "That's good. I'm glad you're friends with Kim."

"I am, too. My grades have improved," Bonnie preened. She actually had to refrain from going into her book bag and showing the doctor her test grades. Mrs. Possible would not be impressed, more than likely. After all, she had two genius sons and Kim was… well, Kim.

"That's good. It's also good that you want better grades. It'll open you up to a whole new world of opportunities."

Bonnie nodded. The trip was over too soon for her. It was nice to know Mrs. Possible was all right with her being around. It was also nice to know Mrs. Possible saw good in her. This somewhat validated what Kim had recently told her — she was worth it. Yes, she knew she could be poisonous, but she could make the decision not to be and there was good in her to carry that out. There was good in her to make good decisions.

"Thank you, Mrs. Possible," Bonnie said with a smile as they pulled up to her house.

"You're welcome, dear," she replied with a smile. It seemed a little knowing, like she was very aware Bonnie's thanks extended well beyond the ride.

-8-8-8-8-

"So, I was thinking about after Bueno Nacho, we go to an arcade," Ron said, offering up thoughts for what they should do after their daily trip to his favorite fast food spot. He spoke to Kim, Bonnie, and Monique. Monique had not bothered to look Bonnie's way since they met up outside.

Kim opened her mouth, about to speak, but her Kimmunicator beat her to it. The device chimed and Kim answered the call. She and Ron were off in under minute. Before running off, Kim discreetly ran a finger across Bonnie's hand. Bonnie sighed. She had not spent much time with Kim the last few days because of missions.

Monique gave Bonnie a sidelong glance. "So, her going off to save the day messed with your plans to ruin her life even more?"

Bonnie glared at Monique. "I'm not trying to ruin her life," she huffed, shouldering her book bag. It was time to start the long, cold walk to the library. She needed to start an essay to make sure her grades kept going up.

"Yeah, well, I see she didn't pursue Todd," Monique commented, finding the need to follow Bonnie for some reason.

"Well, I'm not pursuing him either. I don't like the guy and I'm not trying to steal him from Kim," Bonnie stated.

"Oh, yeah? Just like you weren't trying to steal Josh?" Monique pointed out with a sneer.

Bonnie groaned. "I don't care about Josh and I'm not trying to date him either. Why would I be spending time with Kim, anyway, if my whole purpose was Josh to begin with? I'm just trying to get my own shit together."

Rolling her eyes, Monique scoffed. "Oh, please. You're doing what you always do."

"And what the hell is that?" Bonnie demanded, glaring at Monique now.

"I know you're playing, Kim. I don't know the angle right now, but I know you're trying to mess with her," Monique said.

Bonnie frowned, not that Monique could see the whole expression. She had a scarf on, as it was fairly cold. This was another reason why she wanted to hurry to the library. There was heat there.

"I don't have an angle. I haven't done anything and I'm not going to do anything. Everyone else has accepted this. Why can't you?" Bonnie found the cheer squad especially liked her getting along with Kim. Things went smoother, unless of course Kim ran off for a mission. Then, Bonnie was pissed and worked the squad pretty hard. Sometimes, the coach even stepped in.

"Because I know how you are."

"No, you don't!" Bonnie hissed, stomping her foot. She was not this horrible thing Monique thought she was. She could be good, like Kim and Mrs. Possible believed. She just had to make the right decisions and she would do that. "You don't know a damn thing about me, so stop judging me."

"Oh, you mean how you judge everyone else?" Monique accused, giving Bonnie a hard stare.

"I'm doing better," Bonnie huffed. And she would continue to do better despite what Monique thought because she wanted to be better and she wanted to make Kim proud to be with her.

"And that's supposed to excuse all of your shit?" Monique demanded.

For a moment, Bonnie wondered why this mattered so much to Monique. Why was Monique so offended for Kim? Did Monique have feelings for Kim? _Oh, hell, no! Kimmie is mine!_

"What the hell does it mean to you? Are you like Kim's bodyguard? She can't be trusted to look after herself?" Bonnie inquired.

"She's too trusting sometimes," Monique replied.

"That's her decision to make, not yours. Now, why don't you run along and go pray at the altar of Kimmie or something?" Bonnie huffed. The idea that Monique might have feelings for Kim did not sit well with her and she considered she might have to bring it up to Kim, but now. She doubted Kim would believe it or even think it was possible right now.

Monique reeled back for a moment and then stomped forward to catch back up with Bonnie. "This is called being a friend! I know you wouldn't know anything about that since snakes slither off alone the moment they're born."

"Then go be a friend some place else," Bonnie replied, glaring at Monique once more.

"I'm watching you, Rockwaller," Monique warned and then she trotted off.

Bonnie huffed and scowled all the way to the library. Screw Monique. She did not have to take Monique's crap. Kim always expressed faith in Bonnie and that was enough. Kim believed in her and believed in her abilities. So, who the hell did Monique think she was?

Sitting at a desk in the back of the library and taking out her books refocused Bonnie. She worked on Spanish first and foremost, finding herself upset as she got to points she did not know how to do, questions she did not know how to answer, and sentences she did not know how to write. If only she was at Kim's house, Kim could help her, explain it to her, and leave her feeling just a little smarter. Instead, she heard Connie's voice in her mind, calling her a simpleton. _Stupid…_

"I'm not stupid," Bonnie grumbled, glowering at her workbook. _Spanish is stupid_. Of course, she knew such juvenile thinking would not get her anywhere. Connie made sure she understood that at young age, too. Nothing about school was hard according to Connie. Bonnie was just an idiot.

 _No, don't think about her. You're better off thinking about Monique._ Bonnie scoffed mentally. _Really? I'm better off thinking about the girl who is probably going to try to talk my girlfriend into leaving me and might possibly have a crush on my girlfriend? That's better?_ The voice did not respond. _Yeah, I thought so_.

Bonnie almost ended up in an argument with herself, which she was used, but members of the football team came and saved her… but, not really. It was not secret that Bonnie occasionally went to the library. Her grades kept people from making a big deal out of it, though. Obviously she was not using the library for its intended purpose if she was barely pulling a C-plus average.

"Hey, Bonnie, we were just looking for you," Brick said, three of his rather popular teammates, and thus his friends, standing behind him.

"Looking for me why?" Bonnie asked, not that she cared. She had stopped messing around with Brick at the beginning of school. She was not sure why, but she had not felt like bothering with him. _It probably had something to do with my feelings for Kim bubbling to the surface_.

"We got a couple of…" Brick just wiggled his eyebrows, which could have been code for anything from beer to smokes to condoms, but she knew where she came in for this.

"Well, I don't know where any of the other cheerleaders are and I'm working," she answered, turning her attention back to her damnable Spanish homework.

"Come on. Ditch work for some partying," Brick's equally dim friend, Derrick, suggested with a smirk. It was a sexy expression and might have worked in the past, but Bonnie was beyond uninterested.

 _Okay, so I might actually be like a full-fledge lesbian_. It made sense to her, but now was not the time to think about it. She just wanted to get these three idiots away from her, so she could try to struggle through her homework.

"I don't feel like it," Bonnie answered, which was not unheard of. There were times when she did not feel like their attention or advances and just wanted to curl in on herself. Of course, she would not do that at the library, but they did not know that. Hell, they did not even know her past refusals had involved her having little internal breakdowns.

"Come on, babe," Brick said, leaning down and grabbing her arm.

Bonnie yanked her arm back and gave him an intense glare. "No. And don't touch me again."

"Hey, chill. We're just trying to hang out. What's the problem?" Brick asked with a truly perplexed expression on his face.

It was like he forgot they were not together anymore, which was probably the case. He was beyond dense, much of the time. When they were together, Bonnie had allowed him to yank, pull, and guide her as he just tried to do. Now, she was disgusted just thinking about that. _Why did I let him do that?_ She refused to think about the answer.

"I don't want to chill out. I'm not even your girlfriend anymore. Go chill with someone else," Bonnie replied, dismissing him and his friend with a flick of her wrist. Of course, her not being his girlfriend had never stopped her from "chilling" with him before. There was status in hanging out with the star quarterback, who was a senior to boot now, even if she was not his girlfriend.

Lance scoffed. "Come on, Brick. I told you she wasn't cool anymore. She's hanging out with that goody-goody Kim Possible and crap now."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed. "What the hell does that have to do with anything?" she demanded.

Brick wisely stepped back. He did not have a problem with Kim. In fact, he used to constantly ask Bonnie why she treated Kim the way she did. But, Lance was a special type of asshole and would probably gladly have this discussion with her.

"I dunno. You think you get born-again status hanging out with someone still holding their v-card?" Lance asked with a smug smirk, his dark eyes dancing with evil delight.

Bonnie wasted no time slapping him and it felt good when her hand impacted his olive-toned cheek. His eyes went wide and fell back for a second. He charged back and Bonnie was almost certain she was about to get punched in the mouth, but Brick grabbed Lance before he could touch her. Lance glared at her with hatred and yanked himself away from Brick. Lance huffed in Brick's direction, but did not make a move against the quarterback.

"Hey, look, we should probably just get going. I'm sure there's other girls who aren't busy," Brick said, not as dense as he seemed.

"And who knows what to do with it," Lance added with a sneer.

"I think I just did the right thing with it," Bonnie replied.

Thankfully, Brick dragged that asshole away before anything else happened. _Fuck Lance_. Her throat went tight. _You did_. And therein lay the problem.

Now, not wanting to think of Lance, her own stupidity, and the million other things wrong with her life, Bonnie packed up her things and just went home. The walk felt like it was a hundred miles and her book bag felt like it weighed a ton. _That's what happens when you have sixteen years of emotional baggage_.

"Shut up," Bonnie grumbled to the damn voice in her head.

The house was calm in the sense that her father was not screaming. Her mother appeared to be in the kitchen, scrubbing down counters. Her mother's "mommy sense" must have tingled, though, because she called Bonnie before she managed to trudge upstairs and hide in her room.

"Bonnie, you're home early," her mother smiled, coming to greet Bonnie by the stairs. She hugged Bonnie, even though Bonnie did not hug back. Something about her mother drained her energy, so she could not raise her arms to hug back… ever.

Bonnie shrugged. "Got a lot of work to do."

Her mother patted her on the back before stepping away, giving her some space. "I'm happy you'll be here for dinner. It's always good to see my whole family at the table. I'm making Rick's favorite."

Bonnie shrugged. She did not care about dinner, even though her mother was an excellent cook. Besides, her mother was making her father's favorite to appease him after he complained about breakfast that morning. Bonnie almost asked her mother why she bothered. Why keep trying to prove her worth to a man who obviously thought she was worthless? But, who was she to ask that question after she allowed Brick to pull her around and after she had "dated" Lance for much of her freshman year?

At the top of the stairs, Bonnie saw Lonnie's door opened. She rushed into her own room before Lonnie noticed her and tried to forget how Lonnie influenced her decisions. Shutting her door, and closing out the world as far as she was concerned, Bonnie slumped down, back pressed against the door. She pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face within her knees.

Kim and Mrs. Possible thought she had something worthwhile within her, but no one else did. Her mother used her and her sisters as simple distractions from her own misery. Her father seemed to be mad at the world for no reason she could tell. It was no mystery where she and her sisters got their attitudes and demeanors, but that did not excuse her decisions.

She had been making bad decisions for a long time and Lance was one of the bigger ones. He was a star receiver on the football team and a year ahead of her. When he showed interest in her during her freshman year, she saw it as a chance to rise in popularity, which worked. But, he wanted certain things from her. She had been reluctant at first, but his wanting her proved that maybe Lonnie was wrong. She clearly was not "awkward looking" if this gorgeous football player wanted her. And to make sure he kept wanting her, she gave in. More than once, to any and everything he wanted from her.

Just thinking about it now made her feel dirty. _And yet you think you're worthy of Kim Possible? Yeah, right. We both know you're going to become your mother. You'll marry some guy like Lance and he'll resent it because you'll end up getting married because you're pregnant. You'll trap him and you both can be dirty and miserable together_.

The words felt like truth and Bonnie sat there, crying to herself. Eventually, her mother knocked on her door, letting her know dinner was ready. She did not move, not even when her father came pounding.

"You better get down here! I'm not wasting money for you kids to _not_ eat things," he huffed. "Where do you get off with this crap? You think you can just eat here whenever you like? This shit costs money!" he bellowed.

"Maybe she's trying to be anorexic," she heard Connie commented with a chuckle.

"She better not. I don't need people talking about something being wrong with you!" he huffed.

 _Oh, nice to know where the priorities lie_. Her father was worried about people talking and her sister thought her possibly having an eating disorder was a joke. _Nice_.

Bonnie crawled into bed and did not get up. Eventually, her father and sister left her alone. She fell asleep like that, in her clothes on an empty stomach.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie was not sure how she made it to the corner where she met up with Kim and Ron. Everything was a blur until she saw Kim's smile. It was like a light went on within her and the day was not as gloomy as yesterday. Unfortunately, she doubted she looked like that.

"Hey, you okay?" Kim asked, falling by Bonnie's side. She reached out and hooked her pinkie around Bonnie's for a moment.

"Yeah, I'm all right," Bonnie replied. She was all right now. Part of her wanted to request that Kim never leave her again. Bad things happened when Kim left, but she knew it was not Kim's leaving that did any of that. She did it all to herself.

Kim did not look convinced, but she could not delve into much with Ron walking right next to them. Bonnie breathed a sigh of relief and only felt better when she felt Kim's hand on her elbow. It was only for a few seconds, but it was enough. For now.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Dawn

Kim hated running out on Bonnie. Once upon a time, the beep of her Kimmunicator was music to her ears, but sometimes it made her grit her teeth now. She still liked saving the world and helping people, but she wanted more time with Bonnie. And, just to make her fall for Bonnie even more, Bonnie was so damned understanding about it.

That was actually the surprising thing. Kim had been certain Bonnie would eventually get fed up with the missions, but she always sent her off with a smile. It did not even seem like an act. Bonnie fully supported her, making Bonnie much better than the couple of boyfriends and couple of other guys interested in Kim. Hell, Kim had even lost friends to her missions, but Bonnie was right there.

Kim wanted to support Bonnie in the same way and she could already see, she would definitely have to support Bonnie. It never occurred to her when Bonnie was her rival and tearing her down with almost every other word out of her mouth that Bonnie would actually have what could only be described as low self-esteem. But, it made sense.

"She shouldn't be like that," Kim muttered to herself. She was on her way home from a mission. Ron was asleep next to her, worn out from chasing down Professor Dementor.

Ron mumbled something, but he did not wake up and Kim decided to keep her thoughts to herself. She feared all of her running off for missions might actually wreak more havoc on Bonnie's self-esteem. She could not just tell Bonnie that she was important to her. She needed to show Bonnie, but then again, Bonnie seemed to like all aspects of Kim and this was part of her.

Sighing, Kim realized how tough this would be. It was worth it, though. Bonnie was worth it because Bonnie was peace and so many other things that did not have names yet. And, she hoped she could somehow tell Bonnie, not through words, but through actions.

She was even more resolved when she and Ron met up with Bonnie for school. Hooking pinkies seemed like the thing to do. She wanted more, but Ron was there. She had to do something to lift Bonnie's spirits because she could see the hurt in her girlfriend's face, even though Bonnie insisted she was fine.

"You know you're important to me, right?" Kim whispered, walking a little faster to put Ron just a few steps behind them. Bonnie might be upset over the missions. There had been so many in so little time. Not to mention, she had to leave Bonnie with Monique one of those times, not that either of them said something happened, which was suspicious anyway.

"I know," Bonnie replied.

"I'll make sure I'm around more."

Bonnie looked at her. "Your missions are important. Save the world whenever you can. I happen to like the world."

Kim laughed. _Okay, maybe this wasn't about the missions_. But, still, she had to make sure Bonnie knew she was important beyond words. So, she took Bonnie's hand and held it until they got to school. Ron did not even give them a second glance as he caught up with them and talked their ear off about his plans for his Mad dog routine for the next basketball game.

Bonnie smiled and her eyes shined. This made Kim feel warm and light on the inside. There was just something about Bonnie and her happiness. Kim did not know what it was, but it was there and she wanted to make Bonnie happy as much and as often as possible.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Despite Kim's resolve, she and Bonnie end up fighting.


	7. Waxing

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

7: Waxing

Bonnie's week was not what she wanted it to be. Kim had not been around much, getting called out on missions. The voice in her head began plaguing her with thoughts. Maybe Kim wanted to get away from her. Maybe Kim said they were missions, but it was something else. Maybe no one real wanted to be around her for an extended period of time. Bonnie had answers for the voice, did her best to keep her faith in Kim, and tried to keep her spirits up, but it was so hard.

She had not gotten much homework done, not wanting to go back to the library just yet, and unable to get much done at home between her sisters taunting and her father's yelling. She was not sleeping well, the voice in her head troubling her most in the quiet of the night. She managed to make herself up well, so Kim would not be able to tell anything was wrong with her. She also hoped that looking good would help her feel good.

She had no idea why she thought that. It never made her feel good inside to look good on the outside. Nothing ever made her feel good, except Kim and spending time at the Possible house. She just wanted to do that again. So, she decided to approach Kim and see if they were on for homework after school or if they could set up a date at some point in the near future. On her way to Kim's locker, she saw a sight that made her heart jump in her throat and choke her.

Lance was at Kim's locker, leaning into her as he spoke. Kim was sort of trapped, her locker at her back and Lance looming over her. Of course, if Kim wanted to escape she could, but she probably did not want to injure a classmate.

Bonnie studied the scene for a moment. Lance's smirking face, Kim's tense body language, and she contemplated hitting him again. A nice swift kick in the nuts would probably get him to leave _her_ girl alone. Of course, he would probably punch her in the face after that, but she did not care.

What the hell was Lance telling Kim? Why was he leaning into her like that? Bonnie decided to go find out. She marched over to the scene like a soldier on a battlefield.

"Hey, Bonnie," Kim said and seemed to use her as an escape, sliding in close.

Lance smirked even more. "Yeah. Hey, Bonnie."

Bonnie glared at him. She was not sure how she managed, but she somehow kept from growling at him. The glint in his eyes showed he did not even care, making her skin crawl. Now, she had to refrain from slapping him in the face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Bonnie demanded.

He nonchalantly put his hands in his jean pockets. "Nothing. I just wanted to see Kim wanted to come to a party this weekend. I figure she could bring you." He smirked even more and his eyes gleamed with disgusting lust.

Kim looked between them, obviously sensing the tension in the air. She doubted Kim knew what this was about, though. While it was common knowledge Bonnie and Lance once dated, not many people knew she hated him now. She was snide to him, but she was snide to everyone. But, with him, she meant it. Well, meant it more than she did with others. People could not seem to piece together why, though.

"We're not going anywhere with you, so why don't you go get hit in the head somewhere?" Bonnie informed him, jabbing her thumb behind him.

He laughed. "Why so hostile? I even invited your best friend, so you can go out now." He had the nerve to leer at Kim.

"Lance, cut the shit," Bonnie hissed, ignoring how Kim glanced at her. Sometimes foul language was necessary to get her point across.

"What? Everybody's gonna be there," he continued. He dared to give Kim another once over and it went by Kim once more.

"Not everybody and no one wants to go with you, so why don't you get moving? I'm sure there's some kid you should be taking advantage of. A nerd with lunch money perhaps? A poor kid with glasses you need to break?" Bonnie snapped.

"I don't get what the problem is, Rockwaller. I'm just being nice," he said, flashing a big grin as he put his hand to his chest.

She gave him a leveled look. "We both know that's not the case. Go peddle your dick wares elsewhere." Kim gave her a stern glare, but Bonnie was focused on Lance. She needed to get this douche away from Kim before this got any worse.

He laughed again and started walking. "Kim, let me know if you want to go. You'll have a really good time with me," he said as he walked away and Bonnie had to resist throwing her shoe at him.

"What was that about?" Kim asked with a furrowed brow.

"Nothing, Lance is just a jerk." Shaking her head, Bonnie scowled.

A red eyebrow arched. "Didn't you used to go out with him?"

Bonnie hissed at the memory. "That doesn't make him any less of a jerk. You're not going to go to the party with him, are you?" She would have to go, too, if Kim wanted to. Who knew what Lance was planning, after all, even though she had an inkling it involved getting Kim on her back. _Like Hell I'll let that bastard do anything to her!_ She already knew what the stupid voice in her head would say. _Yeah, because you totally want her v-card, right!_ Sighing, she rubbed her temples for a moment.

Kim studied her for a long moment before replying. "No, I'll probably be too busy. But, he seemed all right. I don't get why you said he was a jerk, though."

"Are you serious?" Bonnie asked. Most people knew Lance could be a jerk, even if they never interacted with him. They just gave him a pass because he could catch a football and run fast.

"What? He seems fine and you dated him, so how bad can he be?" Kim countered.

Bonnie's mouth dropped open. "Seriously?" _Kim is not this naive, is she? Well, no, this is a school social thing, so it probably doesn't register high on her "give a shit" meter_.

"Yes." Kim threw her hands up.

Bonnie could feel the frustrated scowl etched deep into her face. "He was just being charming. You can't trust him. Hell, he was probably just sweet talking you to get back at me."

Kim tensed a little. "Why would you say that? Is it so impossible someone who used to date you might just like me?"

"That's not what I meant," Bonnie hissed. _What the hell is going on?_

And now Kim was frowning for some reasons. "Really? Because it sounds like you think no one could possibly just like me. He's got to have some ulterior motive involving _you_."

Making a fist, Bonnie actually shook from aggravation with this whole thing. "Look, you don't know Lance—"

Olive eyes glared at her as if she was the enemy. "No, I get that. I don't, but maybe he wants to get to know me and it has nothing to do with you. The world doesn't revolve around you, you know?" Kim huffed.

"I never said it did. This has nothing to do with what I'm saying," Bonnie hissed, crossing her arms and dropping them.

Kim folded her arms across her chest. "Doesn't it? No one who went out with _you_ could actually just like _me_ for me, right? But, you don't have to worry. I'm not going to try to go out with your ex-boyfriend. I'm not like that."

Bonnie knew this was a knock at her and she gnashed her teeth. "You know what, I don't have time for this. I've got class." And considering her lack of homework all week, the least she could do was make it to class on time.

She rushed off before Kim could say anything else. She heard Kim call after her, but she did not care. Mentally, she groaned and her stomach twisted. This week just kept on getting worse. _But, you make things worse. It's what you're good at_.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie managed to avoid Kim all day, but they had to see each other during cheer practice. This was the first time Bonnie found herself wishing Kim _would_ get called out for a mission. Even when she felt like Kim was her bitter enemy, she always wanted her around for cheer practice because they needed to be at the top of their game. Now, though, she did not want to share space with Kim, who obviously did not think the best of her like she claimed.

This was probably the tensest cheer practice they had ever had, surpassing one really bad practice when Bonnie and Kim competed to be captain. At least then, there had been discussion during practice. It had been confusing for the squad, getting conflicting information from the two, but at least there were words.

Now, though, the practice was silent. There was no direction from Kim, the official captain again, or Bonnie, the unofficial co-captain. Hey, they needed someone to take over when Kim dashed off for missions and Bonnie was competent, just not as willing to work as long as Kim for some things. The coach did not know what to make of it and just put everyone through their motions, not wanting to upset the balance anymore than it was with Kim and Bonnie. The last thing they needed was to make things worse between the best two cheerleaders on the team.

Halfway through practice, Tara worked up the nerve to ask. "Uh… is something wrong?"

"Everything's fine. Let's work on formations again," Kim said, slapping her hands together. She pointed to where everyone needed to go. Well, at least she was talking now.

"Are you sure everything's fine?" Tara pressed, looking between Kim and Bonnie, who were definitely making it a point to avoid eye contact.

"Yes. Now, come on, while we have the time." Kim made some kind of gesture with her hand.

Tara glanced over at Bonnie, who made it a point to not look at Kim, even as she doled out instructions. Tara sighed. Obviously there was something wrong with the co-captains, but no one said anything about it through practice.

Once practice was over, Bonnie went to have a seat on the empty gym bleachers just for a moment, wanting to clear her head and also not wanting to be around anyone for a little while. Tara had other ideas, though, and sat down next to her. Sighing, Bonnie looked away and hoped Tara would take the hint for once in her life.

"That was a tough practice," Tara commented.

"I guess," Bonnie grumbled. It was tense, not tough.

Tara allowed a small smile to play on her lips. "I'm surprised you didn't say anything when Kim wanted to change the tumble routine."

Bonnie snorted. The tumble thing was ridiculous and she was tempted to call Kim out on it, but why bother? Kim would probably just claim she was being bitchy because of the thing with Lance. Because, obviously, everything in her life had to revolve around boys and Kim. _Which is actually accurate_ , she thought bitterly and waited for the stupid voice in her head to chime in.

"You know, Kim really wouldn't date Lance if you didn't want her to. Kim's not like that," Tara said before the voice in Bonnie's head had chance to say anything.

Bonnie sucked her teeth. "You mean, unlike me who steals men left and right to make sure the great Kim Possible can't have them?" she sneered. She did not even bother to ask how Tara knew about that. _Are all high schools this small in the sense that everybody knows everybody's hallway business? God, grow the fuck up, people!_

Tara's eyes went wide. "No! I didn't mean it like that! I just mean Kim values your friendship now and I know she knows how upset you are, so she wouldn't do that to you. Just like you wouldn't do it to her now because you're friends."

Bonnie sighed. "Are we friends?" she wondered. _Are we anything really? I haven't seen her for a week for more than a couple of minutes and the first time we get a chance to really speak to each other, she accuses me of being self-centered and won't listen to me? I didn't think our first fight would be about Lance. I thought for sure it would be all the mission bullshit, but here we are_.

Tara smiled brightly. "Of course you are! You've been getting along and hanging out. It's made cheer practice much better… except for today, obviously. You guys'll patch things up because you're friends."

"Will we?" Bonnie was not sure, not after Kim seemed to throw all that faith she claimed to have in her right in her face earlier, and for Lance of all people. Lance, who was a douche on a good day, apparently, and an asshole any other time. Kim did not know him well, but she should be a much better judge of character. Hell, if Kim thought Lance was actually interested and worth it, what did that say about her judgement and what did that say about Bonnie? _Decisions my ass_.

"Yeah. You know, friends fight and then talk it out," Tara pointed out, like this was something Bonnie should know and maybe it was something Bonnie should know, but almost every word out of her mouth could be considered a fight with friend or foe. She doubted she had ever "talked it out" with anyone before.

Bonnie nodded, if only to get Tara to go away. She wanted to brood in peace. Tara studied her for a moment, gave her another smile, and then went to change. Bonnie sat there until she was certain everyone had left the locker room. Dragging her feet, she marched into the locker room, where it was completely silent. She sighed, not feeling much better.

Making her way to her locker, she sighed again and leaned against the cool metal. Nope. Still not feeling much better. Suddenly, there were arms around her waist and a nose pressed against her neck and her stomach unwrapped itself. Then, she remembered her anger — and where she was — and stepped away.

"Are you crazy? Anybody could've seen that," Bonnie hissed, glaring at Kim.

"So? I'm a friend comforting my friend," Kim said with a shrug.

Bonnie scoffed. "Oh, we're friends now? We didn't seem like such great _friends_ five hours ago."

Groaning, Kim rubbed the back of her neck. "Not my finest moment, no."

"And, now, what? I'm supposed to forgive and forget? Act like nothing happened? Hold your hand and kiss you like you care?" Bonnie demanded. _Why not? Your mom does it all the time, with Dad, with your sisters, even with you. You should start. Practice your plastic smile. Oh, wait, you have one of those already_. Internally, Bonnie growled. _Like hell! I'll never be her!_ The voice laughed. _You already were. With Lance_. How she managed to not throw up, Bonnie would never know.

"I do care," Kim declared, standing up straight. "How could you even think that?"

"Because I'm a god-awful person who thinks the whole world revolves around her!" Bonnie barked.

Kim had the nerve to jump back, like she was insulted. "I never said that!"

"Well, welcome to how it feels!" Bonnie hissed and then she remembered where they were once again. "I don't have time for this. I need to get dressed, so I can go home." Well, she needed to get dressed. After, she would phone a friend and hope her lifeline involved going some place and forgetting Kim Possible existed for a few hours.

"Bonnie, don't leave." Kim put her hands up and then reached out, like she would touch Bonnie, but thought better of it.

"Why? You do it all the time," Bonnie snapped. She clearly was not worth it. Kim lied to her, thought the worst of her, and could hardly stand to be around her.

"That's not fair. I have missions," Kim argued.

"Whatever." Rolling her eyes, Bonnie scoffed. "I don't want to talk about this. I just want to get dressed and get out of here."

"Bonnie…" Kim sighed.

Bonnie shook her head. "Just leave me alone."

Kim's shoulders sank, but she moved out of the way. Bonnie opened the locker and by the time she pulled her clothes out, Kim was gone. Bonnie was left to get ready in peace. Well, really just left to get ready. Peace would never come. She knew that.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie had to sneak into the house, having missed not just dinner, but her curfew as well. Of course, the curfew only mattered if her father felt like giving her a hard time or if her mother was still awake. She was lucky her mother had not waited up for her, but then again, it was late. She had a little bit of a buzz going, but did not feel great and it had nothing to do with the beer squishing around in her system. She managed to make it to her door before catching her sisters' attention.

"My, my, my, someone's out late," Connie commented from her doorway. She looked like she was smirking, but Bonnie could not tell in the darkness and the distance between her room and her sister's. Lonnie stood in her own doorway, not quite as far, but Bonnie still could just barely make out her smart-ass smile.

Bonnie snorted. "Jealous?" _Why the hell are they home, anyway?_ Why were her sisters ever home, actually? _Aren't they supposed to be super-popular or busy or whatever the fuck they're supposed to be?_

Connie rolled her eyes. "Not hardly."

"Then get off my back," Bonnie replied.

"Isn't that where you're most comfortable, though?" Connie remarked with a chuckle.

"If that's the case, I learned from watching my older sisters," Bonnie countered before disappearing into her room. Connie seemed too shocked by the fact that Bonnie actually said something back to retort. Lonnie just gawked. She should be more careful, as she might draw flies like that.

Bonnie fell into bed, clothes still on. Her phone chimed, but she had been ignoring it all day. Kim had given her some space, only texting once to ask how she was. She had politely responded back, "Leave me alone." This time she decided to check her phone and saw it was Kim again, simply wishing her goodnight. _Aw, sweet_.

"Shut up," Bonnie grumbled because the voice in her head was being mocking, but it was sweet. No one she ever argued with would text her goodnight if they were still in the middle of arguing. Kim was still thinking of her. "So, maybe not forgive and forget, but maybe we can talk it out," she muttered while she texted Kim "goodnight" back.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie sat in Kim's bedroom. They both busied themselves — and stalled — by taking out their books and whatever else they would need to do their homework. Bonnie had not done homework in a while. She wondered if it would catch up with her or she would be able to make it before her final report card. She wanted to do better this term.

"Bonnie… I want everything to go back to how it was before, but I don't want to act like nothing happened. I was wrong," Kim blurted out.

"Wrong for what?" Bonnie asked. There was no point to this if Kim was apologizing just to apologize. She was not interested in lip-service.

"I was wrong for what I said about you and Lance. I should believe you when you tell me stuff. I was wrong for starting an argument after we haven't really seen each other for more than a couple of minutes in the past week," Kim explained.

Bonnie nodded. "I'm impressed, Possible."

Kim's face scrunched up. "You didn't think I'd apologize?"

Bonnie shook her head. "No, I knew you would. I just didn't think you'd apologize for the right things." This was new territory for Bonnie. She had never heard anyone apologize for the right things that did not involve physical harm.

Kim's face scrunched up a little. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, I'm sure you thought you were right at the time. And just for the record, I'm trying my best to learn the world doesn't revolve around me, no matter how much I try. Lance is a sleaze-bag and he thinks it's funny that we're friends and not a good type of funny, so he's trying to be a jerk to you."

Kim shook her head. "I was actually wondering why he was talking to me. He hasn't said a word to me since I was a freshman."

"Lemme guess, he asked you out then and you shut him down," Bonnie said.

Kim drew back a little and put her hands up. "I thought it was creepy. I mean, I was a freshman and he was a junior. I'm sorry, but I do."

Bonnie shook her head. "No, you're totally right. He's a creep."

Kim brushed her hair out of her face. "Yeah, and him being a senior for the second year trying to talk to me still isn't any better for me."

"That's good. You know who is better for you, though?" Bonnie asked with a smirk.

"Gee, I wonder who," Kim chuckled.

Bonnie leaned over and pressed her lips to Kim. Kim sighed and it made Bonnie melt on the inside. She knew she was in trouble now. She would never be able to be truly angry with Kim again. Not for more than a day, anyway.

"Hmm…" Kim practically hummed as they pulled away for air. "I really missed that."

"Me, too," Bonnie said. She had managed to forget how calming and wonderful it was to kiss Kim. "Try not to mess it up again, Possible," she teased.

Kim chuckled. "I'll definitely do my best." She reached over and ran her hand through Bonnie's hair. "I'm really sorry. I guess part of me still thinks you're going to tear into me. It's not because you're like that still, but because I've learned to expect it. It's something I gotta work on, okay?"

A little lump gathered in Bonnie's throat. How did Kim know she needed to know this was not her fault? How could Kim possibly know she had allowed those thoughts to plague her for long?

"You okay?" Kim asked.

Bonnie nodded. "How do you know…" she managed to ask around the lump in her throat.

Reaching out, Kim caressed Bonnie's cheek. "I know you, Bonnie. You're worried about being what Monique thinks you are."

Bonnie's face fell into a deadpan. "You've been talking to Monique?"

"She's my friend and I can only imagine what she says to you when I'm not around because I know what she says to me when you're not around. And I know you don't want to be the person you used to be and I'm planning to support you in that, but you're not the only one who needs work. Despite what people think or how hard I try, I'm not perfect," Kim admitted with a slight shrug.

"You're perfect for me," Bonnie replied with a smile. And it was the truth. Kim knew what she needed when she needed it.

Kim smiled and leaned over to kiss Bonnie. Bonnie returned the kiss, feeling everything inside of her settle. She was a work in progress and they were a work in progress. Kim wanted to work, so Bonnie would work, too. She did not know much about healthy relationships, but she would try her best.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Waning

Mentally, Kim cursed as she watched Bonnie walk away after their argument about Lance. She could not believe Bonnie actually thought the everything on Earth was about her. Well, no, she could believe that since this was Bonnie. Maybe Lance just wanted to get to know her and this stopped her almost immediately.

Why would Lance want to get to know her? Lance had not said two words to her since trying to ask her out when she was a freshman. It was a little weird. Hell, more than a little weird.

She put it out of her mind for cheer practice, but could not focus much on practice. Bonnie was not looking at her and that bothered her to no end. She tried giving directions, but even she could tell everything she asked of the other cheerleaders was horrible. Bonnie should have called her out on it, but she just went through the motions and never said a word. Kim realized this meant their argument was a lot bigger than just Lance maybe asking her out… which, _ew_.

The more Kim thought about it, the more she started to think Lance was a creep. She remembered him asking her out freshman year, but beyond that, she recalled he had dated quite a few freshman that year, Bonnie being one of five. And that was just who she knew about. She was not as up on school gossip as most, so the number might have been higher or even worse, he might still be dating freshmen.

When practice was over, she noticed Bonnie sat back. She knew Bonnie needed space sometimes to collect herself, but this only let her know she had messed up beyond the whole Lance thing. She had gone back on her words, her own promise, simply calling Bonnie's words and motive into question the second it came up.

"Damn it," Kim hissed to herself as she stood in the locker room. The other cheerleaders moved around her and it took a lot of control to keep her from punching her locker. She had gone after Bonnie as if she did not believe her, like Bonnie was not her friend, her _girlfriend_ at that.

She found it was worse than she even thought when Bonnie rebuffed her and her hug. This action made her stomach fall. She would not allow this moment of stupidity to cost her Bonnie, but she knew she needed to give Bonnie space. Bonnie lived in her head and needed to regroup sometimes. Pressing her would only make this worse.

Giving Bonnie space also gave her time to work out what she needed to say to Bonnie. She needed to explain herself, yes, but she also needed to examine herself. Obviously, some part of her needed to catch up with these changes in her life. Even once she and Bonnie literally kissed and made up, Kim knew would have to be more careful in the future. She could not let this happen again.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: sleepover.


	8. In the Cover of Darkness

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

8: In the Cover of Darkness

"I was thinking, maybe you should spend the night," Kim said casually to Bonnie as they walked to school. They were bundled up to fight the cold. Ron was far ahead of them, wanting to get to school as quickly as possible if only to escape the chill.

Bonnie's heart thumped hard. "Spend the night?"

"At my house." Kim clarified. "We haven't spent a lot of time together and I had to bail on a few dates. This way we can spend time together, talking, watching movies, and whatever else we can do in the house late into the night."

"Late into the night…" Bonnie's voice squeaked. What was Kim trying to say? They had been barely dating a month and had not spend much time together recently. Besides, as far as she knew Kim never went "all the way" with anyone she dated. _So, calm down. She probably just means hanging out, you perv_.

"It'll be nice," Kim said. Her eyes sparkled with a smile that Bonnie could not see because Kim had a scarf around her face.

"So, you want to have a slumber party?" Bonnie teased. This was probably what Kim had in mind. A night of innocent nail painting, movie-watching, and maybe a little gigglingly gossip that would not include boys they liked.

Kim chuckled. "I don't think it's a slumber party with only two people. I want to spend time with you."

"What if you get called out on a mission? I mean, would I have to go home?" Bonnie asked. That would be awkward.

"No. I've got a ten o'clock curfew. No 'heroing' after ten," Kim remarked with another laugh.

That was pretty funny. The closest thing the world had to a super hero had to be home by ten. She wondered if any of the bad guys knew that the only thing they needed to do to win was start trouble at eleven at night. She doubted it. After all, if any of them were that smart, they would have done it by now.

"All right," Bonnie agreed. She wondered what Kim had in mind.

Kim's brow wrinkled. "You don't have to ask your parents?"

Bonnie snorted. "No." She would tell her parents she was spending the night at a friend's house and her mother would whine about her being out while her father would just grunt… out of happiness she assumed. Less people around should mean less annoyance for him, unless he was anything like her anyway. She could and had been annoyed by anything, with or without people around.

"Uh… okay." Kim seemed confused by this, but Bonnie imagined it was because Kim's parents expected to know where their children were as best they could.

"It'll be fine, Possible. So, when do you want me to spend the night?"

"What about Friday? Then, if nothing comes up on Saturday, we can hang out, too."

Bonnie nodded. She generally spent Friday with Kim now anyway, not wanting Kim to be alone while Ron played games or whatever with Felix. She had yet to be formally introduced to Felix and really had no desire to be, considering what she had to put with from Monique. He seemed like Stoppable's bosom buddy and she had not been kind to Stoppable until a couple of months ago, so she did not want to deal with his defender as well as Kim's.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie rubbed her hands together, not surprised by how clammy her palms were. Standing in her room, she wondered what she should take to Kim's house for their "sleepover." _Damn, it's good to be a girl_. She knew it would never fly at the Possible household to have a guy stay overnight. Even though she doubted it would matter since she was certain Kim would never do anything untoward under her parents' roof. Or so she told herself to get it in her head that this was just an innocent little sleepover.

"So, let's keep everything PG," Bonnie muttered to herself as she started to pack. She focused on that to the point that she did not hear the door open or Lonnie step in. It was only when Lonnie started mocking her by cooing did she realize she was not alone. It was a good thing she was not talking to herself.

"Aw, little Bon-Bon going for a play-date? Having a slumber party?" Lonnie taunted her.

Bonnie glanced at her sister. It was just Lonnie. No Connie. This could be a chance for her to get back at Lonnie. Lonnie could not hold her own in an argument against Bonnie anymore. She did not have the wit, creativity, or real insight to get to Bonnie anymore. All she could really stand on now was Bonnie was "awkward looking," but she had more than enough boyfriends and now Kim to realize how untrue that was.

"I'd explain it to you, Lonnie, but I don't know words small enough for you to understand," Bonnie replied with a smirk.

Lonnie scowled. "Please, like you're some big brain or something."

"No, but I know it won't take me five years to graduate high school," Bonnie retorted.

"That was just because of typos!" Lonnie huffed.

"Yeah, I don't think they make _typos_ like that. Don't you have some dummy you should be putting makeup on? After all, your lipstick kinda faded," Bonnie said.

Lonnie squinted, knowing there was an insult in there somewhere, but she could not quite figure out where. Grunting in frustration, she just glared at Bonnie. The youngest could not help smirking and imagining smoke coming from Lonnie's head as her poor, little brain burned out trying to figure out what just happened.

"You're the one who needs makeup. It'll cover up your flaws," Lonnie finally said.

For a moment, Bonnie felt introspective. Makeup had never covered up her flaws. It could not go deep enough, after all. It would not cover up Lonnie's flaws either. They were both bare to whoever bothered to look. But, they had both learned to put a pretty cover over the flaws and people rarely bothered to look beyond it. Anyone with any depth could see what they hid.

"I dunno. It's not doing a very good job for you," Bonnie retorted.

Lonnie frowned and looked like she wanted to stomp her foot. "You're just a little kid."

 _Really? This is the best she can do without Connie here to back her up?_ Bonnie was a little disappointed.

"And yet here you are, engaging with me," Bonnie replied with a roll of eyes.

Again, Lonnie looked like she wanted to stomp her foot. Instead, she huffed and glared at Bonnie before storming away. Rolling her eyes again from the sheer pointlessness of that while exchange, Bonnie went and shut her door, locking it in the process. Her father had a thing about locked doors in the house, but it was unlikely that he would come to her room for anything, so he would never know.

"I wish I could go back in time and tell myself as a kid that it gets better," she grinned. Herself as a child would have never thought to say anything back to Lonnie, even if she had a clever comeback. Now, she was older, wiser, and very aware of Lonnie's limitations. Connie still pretty much owned her, though.

Shaking that off, Bonnie finished packing her bag, using a duffel bag she had for cheer stuff and dance. Once she was packed, she marched downstairs for breakfast. She had no plans to return home that afternoon and her parents knew that from when she had previous "sleepovers." The bag would explain it all.

"You better actually be staying out because I'm locking that front door at eleven," her father stated as soon as he saw her bag.

"Okay," Bonnie said. _Does he really think his locking the door stops us from coming and going?_ More often than not, she and her sisters came and went as they pleased, often coming in past midnight, even though there was something like a curfew in place. They had just never really since it enforced and their father just brought up to bark at them.

"I'm serious," he said, maybe as a warning.

"Okay. I'm definitely going to be with my friend," Bonnie answered.

"Braiding each other's hair?" Lonnie said mockingly.

"Oh! How cute! Have fun, Bon-Bon. I do wish you were staying for dinner, though!" her mother said. "Make sure you eat there."

Bonnie just waved that off. She grabbed some fruit to eat for breakfast and took off out the door, her mother calling behind her about how she should eat more. There was a complete breakfast to be had, but she did not want spend that much time with her family, especially if Lonnie was going to be snotty and her mother was going to be oblivious, _as always_.

School went by in a blur. She was eager to get this "sleepover" going. Kim seemed calm and collected from the few seconds she got to see Kim throughout the day. But, Kim had a lot of practice of looking cool. She could possibly be a mess inside, but that did not matter to Bonnie. She just wanted to get things moving.

-8-8-8-8-

"Hey, Mom! Dad! Whoever's home," Kim called as she and Bonnie entered the home.

"Hey, Kimmie!" her father replied from somewhere in the house. Despite the Possibles incredibly high profile jobs, one of them always seemed to be home by the time Kim came in. Bonnie suspected one of the parents got home to be there when the twins came in, but either way, it was not something Bonnie would expect of two working parents. It would have just made more sense for Kim and her brothers to be latch-key kids, but obviously not.

"Bonnie's with me. She's spending the night," Kim reminded her father.

"I remember," Mr. Possible said as he stepped out of his office to greet them. "Hello, Bonnie." He smiled at both of them.

"Hi, Mr. Possible," Bonnie replied, giving him a wave.

"Now, you girls don't do anything wild," he said, like he was serious.

Bonnie wanted to laugh. She doubted he had a true idea of how wild teenagers could get. Maybe perfect parents breed perfect kids and the Doctors Possible would never really know teenage rebellion. Yeah, the twins were crazy, but they were mini-mad scientists, not hard-drinking, stay-out-late, ride-in-a-stolen-car crazy. It was possible the twins would do the latter two after hitting puberty, but she could see them building a car before stealing one.

Kim did laugh, like she knew how absurd her father was. "We won't, Dad," she promised. "Come on, Bonnie."

Bonnie nodded and they disappeared into Kim's room. "What does your Dad think we're going to do, raise the dead up here?"

"I honestly have no idea what he considers 'wild.' I feel like it's either things he's seen in teen movies or acts of arson. Either or," Kim joked.

Bonnie chuckled. "I'm sure he has more imagination than that."

Kim only smiled. Kim understood her father could be ridiculous sometimes, but there was a light in her eyes when she talked about him. She clearly found his ridiculousness endearing, which was one of the reasons why he would never know what real wild teenagers were like. But, Bonnie was pretty sure Mr. Possible knew how lucky he was to have his kids. He definitely did not treat them like they were nuisances or he was trapped with them.

"So, I guess we should do homework first and then see what else there is after," Kim said.

Bonnie nodded, expecting that. Kim was the only person Bonnie ever met that did homework on Fridays, but Bonnie did not mind. This sort of diligence was the reason Bonnie's grades had been on the rise.

Once homework was out of the way, Kim suggested they order pizza instead of eating whatever was for dinner. Bonnie did not mind. So, Kim ordered a pizza, half pepper and half hamburger. They picked out a movie to watch while waiting for the pizza.

"So, your parents don't care if you eat pizza, even though they made dinner?" Bonnie asked curiously. Her mother would have burst into tears if she or her sisters tried that and her father would probably blow his fuse if they tried it. She could hear the man complaining about the wasted money.

"Well, for tonight they're okay with it. They get that we're trying to hang out by ourselves," Kim explained.

"Would they be okay with this if they knew the true nature of our relationship?" Bonnie teased.

Kim stiffened. "Um… no…" A blush burned her face.

Bonnie decided to drop the subject, not wanting Kim to be uncomfortable. They busied themselves trying figure out the sleeping arrangements. There was a guest room, but Bonnie wanted to stay in Kim's room.

"It's a sleepover, right? You sleep in the same room," Bonnie pointed out.

"That's true. Besides, the tweebs might try bugging you or something if you're in the guest room. They torment Ron all the time in there."

"Ron has spent the night here?" Honestly, that should not have been surprising. Ron was Kim's sidekick and best friend. They were ride or die.

Kim shrugged. "Yeah. I've known Ron longer than I've known the tweebs. My parents have known him just as long. He's pretty much a member of the family. He might as well be my brother… much less annoying, though."

Bonnie nodded. That made sense. She never thought to bring anyone to her house, especially when she started school. She never wanted anyone to hear how her sisters spoke to her or how father yelled about everything or how her mother… acted in general.

The conversation was interrupted by the doorbell. It was probably the pizza and Kim went off to get it and pay for it. Bonnie heard Kim yelling at her brothers, who apparently thought they could somehow steal the pizza from her. There was a crashing noise and twin cries of, "Kim did it!" Bonnie was glad not to have little brothers.

"Leave Kimmie alone, you two! She's got company and doesn't need you two horsing around with her," Mr. Possible… barked… kind of. Bonnie guessed it was his version of a bark. Her father could give the man some lessons, but she would never make the suggestion.

Kim made it back upstairs with the pizza intact and not a hair out of place. She grinned and held up her bounty. Bonnie laughed. Silly Kim was cute.

"I fought brave and faced terrors for this. I hope you appreciate it," Kim joked.

"Be still my beating heart. My hero," Bonnie replied, putting her hands over her heart.

Kim chuckled and they ate pizza. Kim had soda with it while Bonnie had juice. They watched a few movies and Bonnie even gave Kim a much needed manicure with a kit she brought over. Saving the world did a number of Kim's hands and nails, but not as much as Bonnie expected. She would have to ask Kim what kind of lotion she used. Before long, it was past midnight and lights out.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie lay on her makeshift bed, two thick comforters underneath her and one covering her. She had been there in the dark room for what felt like an eternity, but was unable to sleep. _It's too peaceful for ya? You need a little dysfunction to sleep?_ For once, Bonnie ignored the voice in her head. It was way off.

Before she could get her thoughts together and figure out what was wrong, she felt a body move next to her. Her brow furrowed. What the hell was Kim doing? She was certain it was not that kind of sleepover!

"I'm sorry," Kim mumbled, moving in close to Bonnie, but staying above the cover.

"About what?" Bonnie asked. She had to swallow. _Oh, god, is it that kind of sleepover? Damn it, should I have worn something sexy?_

"I just thought this wouldn't end up being a kiddie slumber party and it was exactly that. You even painted my nails. We did everything from a junior high sleepover except talk about boys we like," Kim replied and as Bonnie's eyes slowly made out the silhouette of her face, she could see Kim pouted.

Bonnie snorted. "You better not like any boys."

"I don't, but my point stands."

"It's fine. I got to spend time with you like you said. That's the important thing and I had good time tonight," Bonnie admitted. Yeah, this was a simple little slumber party, but it was nice to just spend time with Kim in a way no boy would have ever been able to. Plus, she enjoyed that little manicure. They might have to do that more often.

"Really?" Kim blinked.

"Yes, really. It was nice just to be with you."

Suddenly, Kim relaxed and settled even more against her. Bonnie did not object, but she had to wonder where this was going. Kim remained on top of the cover, but she put an arm around Bonnie's waist… eventually. It took her a few seconds to realize where Bonnie's waist was underneath the thick blanket. Then, she sighed, as if she was comfortable. They remained like that in complete silence for a while.

"Tell me about yourself as a kid," Bonnie found herself requesting. She wanted to know more about Kim. What turned Kim into this person who she felt so attracted to? "What were you like?"

Kim shrugged. "I think I was pretty much the same, except less organized."

"So, you started saving the world in diapers then?"

Kim laughed. "Okay, no. I didn't start that until a few years ago, actually."

"How did you get into that?"

"Well, I've always been helpful, but this was more a mistake on someone else's part than me actively trying to become a hero."

Bonnie's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I started my website because I wanted to babysit, make some extra money and all. I don't even remember what I needed the money for now, but the first hit on my site was actually meant for a superhero team called Impossible and the person just accidentally hit 'k' before typing out the rest."

"A typo made you a hero?" Bonnie could hardly believe it. Something so mundane had led to _the_ Kim Possible. "If it was mistake, why didn't you leave once you figured it out?"

"Because I can do anything," Kim remarked with a wide grin. "But, no, this was where I found out I actually could do anything. And it just snowballed from there."

"So, what did you do before saving the world before bedtime?"

Kim snickered. "Regular stuff like I do now."

Bonnie had to hold in a snort. "Regular stuff like what?" What did Kim think was normal?

"My parents had me in _tons_ of activities. I went to three different martial arts schools, gymnastics, swimming, tennis for a while, arts and crafts, pixie scouts…"

"No science things?" It seemed odd. The Possible household was full of scientists and then there was Kim. Yeah, Kim was great in science and math class, but she did not show any interest in science outside of school.

Kim scratched her head. "I think I went to chemistry camp a couple of times and definitely science camp. I was banned from one. Apparently, they don't like it when you use test tubes, beakers, and other equipment in martial arts demos."

Bonnie chuckled. So, Kim was probably like her brothers when she was younger, but with karate instead of engineering. It made sense. Energy seemed to run in the family, but they needed to figure out where to direct it.

"So, you have a mother who's a doctor, a father who's a rocket scientist, and brothers who're engineers. Where do you fit in? I mean, are you unique or are there a bunch of Possibles doing things similar to you?" Bonnie asked.

"I guess I'm unique here when you put it like that, but I've never thought about it. My family on both sides are pretty adventurous. I recently found out I might've inherited my personality from my grandmother. But, my mother's side has some cool people on it, too. You know, one of her ancestors went to the Amazon with Theodore Roosevelt," Kim said.

Bonnie smiled at how proud and awed Kim sounded by that. This girl who saved the world was amazed that one of her relatives once got to hang out with a president. Bonnie could not help herself and had to reach out, caressing Kim's cheek.

"Just to the Amazon? Not the wild west or on safari?" Bonnie asked and Kim smiled softly at her. "What?" The expression threw Bonnie off kilter.

Reaching out, Kim hesitated for a moment before running her hand through Bonnie's hair. "I just think it's amazing that I get to see this Bonnie. I mean, who else would you show you know stuff about President Roosevelt?"

"Well, to be fair, most people I socialize with wouldn't know who he was." And they would not care to know, so Bonnie would never have the chance to talk about him anyway.

"But, you do and you showed me. I want to see all of you," Kim said, obviously not realizing how that sounded with them cuddled together in the dark. "I want to have conversations with you where you let little things like this slip and you're not scared to show how smart you are."

Bonnie felt a blush burn her cheeks. "I'm not really smart. I just remember random things sometimes." That was how it felt anyway.

"You are smart. I'd like to think I can tell."

Bonnie shook her head. "My C average says otherwise. Look, I've got two sisters. Lonnie, who tragically took five years to get out of high school and probably couldn't find her nose in a dark room, and Connie, who got a full academic scholarship to Upperton University. I'm the mean of those two."

Kim laughed. "I don't think you're the mean just for the simple fact that you said you're the mean. Most people wouldn't have used the word 'mean.' So, you're probably closer to Connie than you think. You just have to give yourself a chance."

"I want to," Bonnie said in a low voice. She wanted to do better, to _be_ better. She did not want to turn into those people in her family, or the person they thought she was. She wanted to be better than them and herself. "I think I'll need more than a typo, though."

Kim laughed. "You're doing good. This Bonnie you're showing me who's inside of you is a wonderful person." Leaning over, she placed a hand over Bonnie's heart, still over the cover.

Bonnie could not take it anymore, leaning forward and kissing Kim. Kim wasted no time responding, kissing her right back. It barely took a couple of seconds before their tongues touched and slid against each other. Kim even pushed forward a little, knocking Bonnie on her back. They did not break the kiss and Bonnie had to free her other arm from the cover, _needing_ to run her fingers through Kim's hair. A moan escaped one of them, echoing off the wall, probably sounding a lot louder than it was. They pulled back and stared at each other.

"Sorry," Bonnie said. They should not be doing this, not in the Possible house, not so soon in their relationship. She did not want to mess this up.

Kim's brow furrowed. "Why? You think I don't want to kiss you?"

"Well… not here, right? I mean, this isn't that kind of sleepover… is it?" Her brow furrowed in confusion. She could not have misread this whole thing so badly… right?

Kim licked her lips and Bonnie just wanted to claim them again. She held off as Kim replied. "Well, what if it could be… a little bit?"

Bonnie smiled and scratched the back of Kim's neck. "I like the way you think."

"I just want you to know, Bonnie, I want us, okay? I know I run off and I've messed up a little bit, but I'm not very experienced with relationships like this. Bear with me?"

"You got it, Possible. Now, shut up and kiss me."

Kim grinned and did as ordered. Bonnie pulled her close, enjoying the weight of Kim on her. It was a good thing the cover was between them, though. Bonnie would have definitely done more than "a little bit" if she could really feel Kim against her. But, for now, this was definitely enough.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Chasing the Sun

After proposing the idea of a sleepover, Kim was not sure what she should do during the sleepover. She wanted things to be perfect, so Bonnie knew she wanted them to be together and she was invested in this relationship with Bonnie. So, she needed to think of something special to do.

She sat her desk and tried to think of what she and Bonnie could do, but nothing really came to mind. Rubbing her forehead, a knot formed in her stomach. How could she show Bonnie she wanted this if she could not even think of stuff to do for a sleepover?

"Come on. I don't want this to be some crappy thing for like twelve-year-olds," Kim grumbled, glaring down at her blank notebook.

Of course, it turned out to be exactly what she did not want it to be. At the end of the night, Kim laid in bed, staring at the lump on the floor that was Bonnie. _Bonnie probably thinks I'm immature or something_. But, she had learned not to jump to conclusions when it came to Bonnie.

She wanted to make sure Bonnie knew she wanted this to be different than it turned out, even though she got a really good manicure out of it. But, she wanted more than that. Bonnie made her feel important and she wanted Bonnie to feel the same way. She did not want Bonnie think this was just a friendship or something. This was more than that.

Kim was not sure what got her out of bed, but she found herself moving. It felt right. She wanted to be close to Bonnie and she wanted Bonnie's thoughts on the night. She hoped she did not screw up too badly. And then, it turned out, she worried over nothing.

"Thank you," Kim muttered late into the night, cuddled into Bonnie.

"Why are you thanking me?" Bonnie yawned.

"For being you, with me. For being with me. For understanding me. So many things," Kim realized. It really was not until Bonnie came into her life in this capacity that she realized how much she needed someone like this.

"Then, thank you." Bonnie yawned again and she drifted off to sleep.

Kim watched her and a smile settled on her face. She doubted anyone ever got to see this peaceful look on Bonnie and she felt privileged to see it. She actually wanted to kiss Bonnie awake, but instead just lost herself in recent memories of kissing Bonnie.

She had never lost herself in someone like she did with Bonnie, but it felt right. And, Bonnie had not pressured her like she knew others would have, which only just made things better. Bonnie really wanted to be with her.

This was the start of something special. She was sure of that. So, she needed to be more careful with it and with Bonnie.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Christmas presents.


	9. All is Calm

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

9: All is Calm

It was Christmas time. School was out for break. Bonnie felt like she had ended school on a good note, even though there was still a month left when they came back from vacation. It was just, she thought she did a good job for this end, anyway. And she thought she would end the year on a good note.

And a good note for her would be presenting her girlfriend with a sweet, loving, and touching gift. Her girlfriend — Kim Possible. The very thought made her want to float off into space. Made her want to be a better Bonnie. She needed something to show that, needed Kim to know exactly how she affected Bonnie.

Before Kim, she would have thought something special meant something expensive. It was what she would have expected from past boyfriends. Kim might very well have gotten her something expensive, but she was not saying. Kim was a big believer in the art of surprise. No matter how much Bonnie begged to know what it was, Kim refused to say.

Bonnie had not purchased something expensive. Kim was not that type of girl. Yes, she would appreciate a sparkly bauble as much as the next girl, but she would rather something well thought out and from the heart. Bonnie wanted to do that. She wanted to get Kim something that would make her smile every time she saw it.

"Maybe it's a little corny," Bonnie considered, looking down at the wrapped box in her hand. She was in her bedroom with the present.

Tomorrow was Christmas. Her plan was to walk over to the Possible house when she could get away from her own family for a few minutes. She might lie and say she wanted to go to the store for something, just to make sure no one asked any questions. Of course, there was always the chance no one would ask questions. She just had to avoid the right people.

She fiddled with the gift a little more, tracing its edges with her finger, and then put it away, not wanting to risk damaging it. She hid it in a small space under the floor in her closet. Her sisters did not respect private space… not that she did either. They went through her room like it was theirs, so she often returned the favor. Throughout the years everyone had found something golden, but also something scarring. Bonnie would never forget the day she found Connie's vibrator. Yeah, it was a source of amusement, embarrassing the hell out of Connie, but also… ew.

Lonnie seemed to have an endless supply of condoms hidden around her room, which was surprising. Bonnie did not think Lonnie was smart enough to practice safe sex, but apparently, she did. Bonnie used to steal them all the time. Lonnie never seemed to notice, making her the only one of them to not realize things were missing from her room.

So, she secured the present, even though it was wrapped and did not say anything remotely telling. It was not like she left a tag on there, "to my wonderful, amazing girlfriend Kim, whose babies I would totally have." But, it was engraved and they might open the wrapping to see that. Then, she would be subjected to the Spanish Inquisition, which Lonnie would not understand, but Connie would have a field day with and Lonnie would just along with to see Bonnie squirm.

With that out of the way, Bonnie went downstairs to wait for her relatives like the rest of her family. They had a Christmas tree up in the living room. It was one of the few things her father did not complain about. Christmas never cheered up his eternal grumpiness, but he seemed a little more agreeable than other times.

There were presents under the tree. She got her sisters something despite their constant and consistent douche-baggery. They probably got her things, too. They did almost every Christmas. Of course, their mother had gotten them all stuff, but Bonnie usually got just a little more.

Bonnie had also gotten Tara something because Tara got her something every year, but this year was the first time she returned the favor. She was beginning to understand Tara was different from her other friends. Tara was not just someone who clung to her to leech off of her popularity. She would have to do better by Tara and this was the start of that.

"Hello, family!" The front door opened and a friendly, female voice called out.

Her aunts — two of them — arrived. One aunt, Sandi, was married and had two kids. One daughter, one son — Britney and Bretford. Brett was the only boy in a sea of girls. Their grandparents loved him like he was the Holy Grail. Brit and Brett were closer to Lonnie's and Connie's ages, so Bonnie did not interact with them much.

Her aunt Sonni was what her grandmother affectionately called a "spinster." Sonni tended to laugh it off. For the "spinster" of the family, she always dressed well and was pretty successful. She was also the friendliest of the three sisters.

"Staci!" Sonni grabbed Bonnie's mother into a tight hug.

Bonnie watched her father grumble as Sonni wasted no time hugging everyone as if she would never see them again. Well, not everybody. Sonni did not hug Bonnie's father. In fact, she did not even glance his way.

Her grandparents arrived about an hour after her aunts. They cooed and fawned over all of their grandchildren, even though everyone was pretty much grown. Bonnie was the baby of the bunch, but she still did not compare to the holiest of holies, their grandson. Whatever.

"Brett, look at you!" her grandmother said, grabbing him into a hug for the third time in two minutes.

"You still playing hockey, boy?" their grandfather asked.

"Yeah, Grandpa," Brett answered shyly.

Bonnie thought this was a weird aspect of her cousins' personality. Both Brit and Brett were a little bashful. Not that it mattered. Aunt Sandi would sing their praises for them.

"You know he is, Dad! Mark wouldn't let him quit and he needs the scholarship money," Sandi chimed in. "It's tough putting two kids through college." It was a possible dig at Bonnie's parents, but she did not go any further than that.

"Yeah, thank goodness Connie got her scholarship," Bonnie's mother said, making conversation. She put an arm around Bonnie. "Hopefully, this one will manage it, too."

Before Connie or Lonnie could jump in with something mean, Sonni spoke up. "How is this one doing in school, anyway?" She nodded toward Bonnie and there was just small talk about all of the children in school.

This was her mother's family. They were pretty normal and brought normalcy with them. Her father did not interact with them much, preferring to sulk in his chair in the living room. Bonnie did not understand why, but sometimes she thought her father was jealous. There had been occasions in the past when her father's attitude and screaming would be kicked up to eleven the moment her mother's family left, like he resented she had people who loved her and he had nothing.

As far as she could tell, her father did not speak to his family. His parents were still alive, living in another state. He had a brother somewhere who did not talk to him. Bonnie envied them.

Her mother's family tended to ignore her father for the most part. Every now and then, her grandfather or Aunt Sonni would get brave and try to engage him, only to leave the living room muttering insults under their breath. She did not get why they bothered, but whatever.

"Do you need any help with anything? Cooking?" her grandmother offered, speaking to her mother.

Bonnie's mother laughed and shook her head. Her mother went all out for Christmas Eve dinner, doing the amazing things all by herself since none of her daughters could cook. Tomorrow, like always, her aunts and grandmother would handle Christmas dinner, giving her mother her one day off of the year. Over the years, she and her sisters and cousins, overheard and eavesdropped on many conversations between the adults of the family and had come to a better understanding of her mother's plight. Of course, that never stopped her from feeling like her mother was annoying, as well as a doormat.

But, she would do her best to enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas. She kind of felt like it was truce between her and her sisters. They could be calm and collected and just enjoy being around halfway sane family, even if the favoritism was blatantly skewered in the male's favor with almost all of the adults focusing on Brett.

"Well, since I don't give a damn about hockey, how about you girls tell me what's going on with you?" Sonni asked, speaking to the girls. She smiled. Sonni was always interested in everyone, as best she could be.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie texted Kim when she was outside of her house. She was bundled up in snow gear, as Middleton was never deprived of their white Christmas. One of her favorite childhood memories was with her cousins allying with her against her sisters in an epic snowball fight. They were all too old for that now, even though she would give her right hand to see Connie smacked in the face with a slush-ball.

Kim came rushing out of the house in only a winter sweater and her usual pants. Bonnie resisted the urge to scold her and force her to go back inside to get a coat. Kim grabbed her into a hug, which she returned. They then pulled back and smiled at each other.

"Merry Christmas," Bonnie said.

"Merry Christmas," Kim chuckled and dipped her head. "I almost kissed you when I saw you standing out here."

Bonnie's heart thumped. She would have enjoyed that very much. But, they were in the middle of the street and who knew who could see. Ron was probably in the house and he could always glance out. Hell, the twins might have come out to start trouble while they were in the middle of a lip lock.

"I wouldn't have minded," Bonnie admitted. She would not mind right now, either.

Kim swallowed hard. "We'll have to talk about that."

"Not now, though. I just wanted to give you your Christmas gift on Christmas," Bonnie said with a small smile. Getting away from the house was harder than she thought it would be, her aunts had questions for her as to where she was going and all that, but she managed it.

"Good. I wanted to give you yours on Christmas, too." Kim went into her pants side pocket and pulled out a small box.

Bonnie handed her gift over as Kim did the same. "What is it?" she asked.

"Just open it. I want to see your face when you do," Kim replied.

Nodding, Bonnie had to slide one glove off to do so. Tearing through the wrapping paper, she knew she had a jewelry box in her hand, but did not recognize the name. She hoped Kim did not go all out. She did not want to bankrupt her girlfriend. Then she popped the top open and found infinite symbol with tiny emeralds on one curve and blue topaz going through the front band. Her throat went dry.

"Kim… you didn't… you didn't…" Bonnie could not even finish the sentence.

"I wanted to. The second I saw it, I thought of you. The blue made me think of your eyes. But, then they were in this infinity symbol and I thought of math. You know, it's both of our best subject and I want you to think of us when you look at it," Kim explained and she gave a little shrug.

"I love it," Bonnie sighed. _Damn it, I really want to kiss her now!_

"That's good," Kim blushed… or the cold was turning her cheeks red. It was probably both. She rubbed her hands together and then put them in her pocket, like she was insecure… or cold. "I thought it was nice because you're kinda like infinity. You go on and on, no matter what. You're awesome."

Bonnie sniffled and wiped at her eye. "You can't make me cry while we're out here where people might see."

Chuckling, Kim smiled a little. "I'm sorry. I just want you to know what I was thinking about when I got it."

"Thank you…" Bonnie sniffled again and swallowed, hoping to keep back tears. "I don't think I've ever had someone put this much thought into a gift for me. Most boyfriends would've seen this and just grabbed it because it looked pretty. They probably wouldn't even know what the infinity symbol was. They definitely wouldn't know I like math."

Kim grinned. "So, I've done better than past boyfriends?"

Bonnie yelped and stood a little straighter. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know. I'm just teasing. What did you get me?" Kim played with the box a little.

"Open it now, so you can go back inside!" Bonnie ordered, giving Kim a light shove back in the direction of her house.

Kim laughed. "I'm fine." She made short work of the wrapping paper, but still made it look like she was creating origami. Her eyes lit up as she saw the small, dark wooden jewelry box with detailed flower designs carved in it. "It's beautiful…" she whispered.

"Open it." Inside was the best.

Kim popped the top and it played a little song from Swan Lake. But, best of all, on the top, she had the words, "You make everything possible" engraved in it. Kim looked up and locked eyes with her. Bonnie gave a small smile.

"Now, who's going to make who cry? This is beautiful," Kim repeated. She locked eyes with Bonnie, who felt like some many emotions passed between them in that moment.

Bonnie chuckled, feeling a little too exposed for outside. "You already said that."

Kim's breath showed in the air as she smiled. "It bears repeating. This so lovely."

"I think it'll be better once it's full of keepsakes I buy you over the years," Bonnie remarked.

A half-smile tugged up the side of Kim's face. "Yeah. I wish I could fit The Grapes of Wrath in here." She shuffled the box from hand to hand briefly.

 _That would've been awesome_. Bonnie shook her head and looked down for a second. "I wasn't thinking about that."

"It's fine. I'm sure I'll get other things to put in it. I look forward to filling it, actually." Kim grinned. "But, Bonnie, you make everything possible, not me."

"That's nice to say, but…" Bonnie stared at the ground and shrugged.

Kim reached out and took her hand. "I'm ferociously serious, Bonnie. You're the one who made us possible. You were the one brave enough to take that step. You were the who decided you wanted to change and become the person you feel was hiding inside of you, the one who approached me. This…" She motioned between the two of them. "This is all you."

"No, I was the one who ruined any chance of us in the first place," Bonnie replied.

"But, you brought us back together. There was a moment that meant something to you and you held onto it and you chased after it. You're the one who did something amazing."

Bonnie decided against arguing, but only because she wanted Kim to get inside. Yeah, Kim might be superhuman or whatever, but it was cold and even she got sick every now and then. For a moment, she rubbed Kim's hand, which still had hold of her, with her thumb.

"You want to come in for a little while?" Kim offered, apparently not willing to let go just yet.

"I'd like to, but I should get back home." Bonnie was fairly certain her family would decapitate her if she missed Christmas dinner and she certainly would miss it if she stepped into the Possible house. Besides, things were okay at her house for once. She should enjoy it.

"What's going on at your house?" Kim asked curiously.

"The same thing going on in your house, I'd figure. My grandparents, aunts, uncle, and cousins are at the house. My grandmother and aunts are cooking. Well, my aunt Sonni is pulling stuff, but in the kitchen none the less. Everybody's catching up with each other and just being happy to see each other," Bonnie explained. There was some snark going around, as that was expected with her and her sisters, but for the most part, it was all right.

Kim nodded. "Yeah, my mom cooks. Nana can be a bit of a diva if you let her in the kitchen, but her food tastes like something a drill sergeant would make." She snickered.

Bonnie laughed as well. "I'm sure you'd soldier through it."

Kim shrugged. "I have, but that doesn't mean I like it. Do you want to come ice skating tomorrow?" she blurted out.

Bonnie's forehead wrinkled as her eyebrows drew in close to each other. "Is this a date or will Ron be there?"

Kim laughed. "Ron and my cousin Joss, who's visiting from Montana. But, I could take you on a date there after hours."

"So, you want to ice skate in the dark?" Bonnie teased.

More laughter escaped Kim. "No, of course not! A lot of people owe me favors over there and I could cash one in for a romantic night of ice skating for my girlfriend."

The word hit Bonnie and seeped into her like a warm glow on this cold day. "I'd like that. You're surprisingly romantic." _Ouch. Wow. And I'm crap at this_.

"Better than your other boyfriends?" Kim teased with a half-smirk.

Bonnie shook her head. "I'm never going to hear the end of this, huh?"

"If it makes you feel any better, you're doing a good job at making me feel more appreciated than any of my past boyfriends."

Bonnie scoffed. "All three of them?"

Kim tittered. "Four!"

"Four?" Bonnie tried to calculate in her head how many boys she had managed to steal from Kim, but the number was higher than four. Apparently, Kim did not realize how many boys actually liked her.

"Yes, I've had four boyfriends, counting Josh. They weren't that great," Kim grumbled with a shrug.

Bonnie had no doubt about that. "They're intimidated by you, baby." _Oh, wow. Was that cool? Can I call her that?_ They had used other nicknames, but this one was rare.

Kim laughed. "I'd like your insight on that, but I'm starting to feel the nip in the air and I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Can I call you tonight?" Bonnie requested, while noting her use of "baby" as a term of endearment had not been shot down. So, it must have been all right.

"Please." Kim finally let go of her hand. "Text me when you get home, though. I want to know you made it all right."

Bonnie nodded and they touched hands once more before heading off in different directions. Bonnie's hand felt warm as she eased it back into her glove. She wondered how long this extremely high version of love would last. The simplest things from Kim made her lose track of reality.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie was in her bed. She had her phone in hand, pressed to her ear. She and Kim were having a late night conversation, reviewing their Christmas day with the other. It was nice. Bonnie never had a simple conversation like this with anyone aside from Kim.

"I'm glad Tara liked your gift," Kim said.

Bonnie smiled at the memory. "She was so surprised I gave her something. I need to treat her better. I think… I think she might be my one true friend."

"Hey, what about me?" Kim sounded like she was pouting.

Bonnie snickered. "You don't count. You know why."

"I suppose. Still, it's nice you got her something and you recognize her worth to you. Tara's a good person."

Bonnie could not argue with that. Despite her influence, Tara remained a fairly decent human being. Like any teenager, she had her moments, but nothing like Bonnie.

"So, aside from Tara, what did you do?" Kim asked.

Bonnie chuckled a bit, shocked at how quickly Kim wanted off the topic of Tara. She did not bring it up, but quickly moved on, informing Kim about her family's time together. Kim spoke of her family's time together as well.

"I'm impressed with your cousin's ability to consume so much turkey. I think I'd be able to take him in an eating contest, though," Kim remarked.

"You won't be doing that around me," Bonnie stated. She never thought of Kim eating a lot, but now that the idea was out there, she realized it would be crazy for Kim to _not_ eat a lot. Kim was in constant motion. Her body had to burn a lot of energy.

"You mean you won't think that's attractive? I'm pretty sure I saw Brick and Lance do it once."

"It wasn't attractive then either, not that I was attracted to either of them." As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized it was the truth. She had never been attracted to them, or any of the boys she had been with.

Kim was silent for a moment. "Why were you with them then?"

"Well, I was with Brick because he wanted you," Bonnie admitted easily.

"You've been purposely stealing boys from me since junior high."

"Well, I didn't want them near you because I wanted you and I also wanted to hurt you," Bonnie replied. They had been through this, so it was not so hard to confess, but it sounded so stupid. _I hurt you because I love you? I'm an idiot_.

"Did Lance like me?" Kim asked.

"Why? Do you like him?" Bonnie countered. She was sick of Kim bringing that douche up.

"No! No, no, no. Honestly, he comes off as a bit of an asshole."

"Yeah, trust me, he is just that. He never liked you as far as I know. I ended up going out with him for my second reason to live — popularity. I wanted to be popular in high school and he was my first step." It was a huge price to pay and right now she really wished she could take it back, but it was done and over. She was older and wiser now.

Again, Kim was silent. "It didn't bother you that he was sixteen?"

"I thought it was great a junior wanted to date me," she replied honestly. Now, yes, it was creepy to realize she was fourteen and he was sixteen. Worse was the fact that he turned seventeen while she was still fourteen, but to her it was amazing that this older boy wanted to bother with her. She could tell Lonnie she was not too "awkward-looking" for an older football player to want to be her boyfriend. It had not occurred to her that he wanted to be with her beyond the fact that she was pretty, but more that she would do what he wanted.

"I guess that's a valid reason."

"No, it's not. You don't have to tiptoe around it, Possible. I know how it seems and he was dating me for the very reason you're thinking of," Bonnie blurted out before she realized what she was saying. She did not want to talk about this anymore. She did not want to end up admitting to Kim she had slept with Lance, more than once, not that it was a secret. When they broke up, he went around telling everyone what a horrible lay she was. Her plan to prove him wrong and pay him back was to sleep with more guys on his team, so they could tell him he was an ass and she was great. The plan worked, but it was short-sighted, like always. Now, the whole school thought she was fast and easy. Hell, maybe she was.

So, there was another long moment of silence. Bonnie sighed. _I am really bad at this_. She never would have considered Kim was better in the relationship department than she was. She had so much more practice at this! Well, not really. None of her relationships were real like this.

"Kim, I'm sorry. I just…" Bonnie was not even sure what to say.

"It's okay, Bonnie. You've had boyfriends."

"But, I've always wanted you," Bonnie said. _Okay, that was probably good_. But, there was silence again. "Kim?"

"I'm a little choked up over being this person you always wanted. You being this person who's right for me… It's weird, but it's amazing. You make me feel amazing."

Bonnie smiled. "I'm glad I do. You're special, Kim Possible."

Kim chuckled. "You, too, Bonnie Rockwaller."

They spoke for a while longer before having to get some sleep. Bonnie sighed as she eased her phone down onto her nightstand. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: All is Bright

Kim smiled as she put her Kimmunicator down. It was nice to speak with Bonnie and find out how good her Christmas went. She wished she had been able to spend Christmas with Bonnie, but her family would be crushed if she went to the Rockwaller house and Bonnie had not invited her over anyway. She suspected Bonnie did not want her to have to deal with her mean-spirited sisters.

"Of course, they can't be worse than Bonnie used to be," Kim muttered to herself, but she would not push.

She wanted to celebrate things with Bonnie, though. Reaching over to her nightstand, she picked up her Christmas gift and smiled from just the weight in her hands. Bonnie planned to get her things, things to fill this box, which was already wonderfully perfect.

"She wants to be with me. She's wanted to be with me…" Her smile grew. Maybe that thought was a better Christmas present than the keepsake box.

Of course she knew Bonnie's reputation and most people would probably consider her crazy for thinking it was something special that Bonnie wanted to be with her. Bonnie, who it was said had been with most of the football, basketball, and baseball teams, wanted Kim. The idiots who talked about Bonnie did not know how special she was, though.

Kim got to see the real Bonnie and the real Bonnie wanted her. Everyone else got the facade, the armor, the wall. They did not know Bonnie and just accepted what they showed. A smile curled onto her face as she thought about what people missed out on.

"Too bad for them," Kim muttered.

Of course, one person was there for Bonnie… Tara. It was good that Bonnie had one person in her corner, even though Bonnie had hidden herself from even Tara. How had Bonnie managed, keeping her true self locked away for so long?

"Well, she doesn't have to do that anymore. I hope she let's the world see who she really is," Kim said. Beyond that, though, she hoped she was always the person who got to see the most of Bonnie.

Turning the gift box in her hands, Kim sighed contently. This thing she had with Bonnie, it was real. It was realer than anything they had with guys. She looked forward to other holidays with Bonnie. She looked forward to a future with Bonnie.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Bonnie arranges a New Year's date.


	10. Shooting for the Moon

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

10: Shooting for the Moon

After ice skating at night, under a moonlit sky all arranged by Kim calling in a favor, Bonnie realized she needed to step up her girlfriend game. She was used to boyfriends bending over backwards for her, which she expected a boyfriend to do, but she knew a girlfriend expected to be romanced and Kim was her girlfriend. So, she had to figure out something they could do that was romantic and she needed to figure it out fast.

She had to do something that was up there with the ice skating, which was much better than she expected. The lights had been on, but dimmed and she got to spend an hour pressed close to Kim. She even fell a couple of times, just so Kim could catch her. She noticed Kim liked being her hero.

"Now, I'd like to enjoy being Kim's girlfriend, so think of a cool date," Bonnie muttered to herself, hoping this would somehow get her thinking. It was definitely going to be tough to top the nighttime skating.

It took exploring and research and she would probably freeze her ass off, but she knew Kim would delight in it. Plus, it was romantic and beautiful. Kim deserved that. Her heartbeat rapidly in anticipation.

"Hey, baby," Bonnie cooed into her phone. She was in the safety of her bedroom and it was pretty late, so it was probably safe to use any and every pet name that came to mind for Kim… which she should probably start doing. She needed something cute, like Kim, but also powerful, like Kim. _But, I'll think about that later_.

"Hey, sweetheart," Kim replied.

The term of endearment got a smile out of Bonnie. She was certain she looked like a goof, but she did not care. "How are you?"

Kim laughed. "You mean since you last saw me this afternoon?"

"Yeah, but that wasn't for very long." Bonnie had gone by to see Kim because they had not seen each other since their skating date three days ago.

"Yeah, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I know you have family in town and you want to be with them." Her family had all gone home as soon as Christmas dinner was over and even though they all lived in the same town, except her grandparents, she knew the only one she would see before the next holiday was Sonni. It was not that her aunt and her family had anything against Bonnie and her sisters. It was just no one wanted to deal with her father.

"Yes, but we both know I want to be with you, too. I just can't take all of Joss' questions about you," Kim replied with a laugh.

"Yeah." For the few minutes she had been around Joss, she was not sure if the girl ever stopped acting questions. Most of the questions were about Ron and Kim, in that order, which was disturbing in and of itself. The fact that she had seemed upset at mistaking Bonnie for Ron's girlfriend was enough for Bonnie to avoid any interactions with Joss.

There was a moment of silence between the two of them, like they were both trying to forget Joss' behavior. Despite Joss seeming a little weird, Bonnie could tell Kim adored her cousin and the feeling was returned. Bonnie was not quite there with her cousins, but she would say she was friends with Brit and Bret.

Bonnie decided to break the silence before it got awkward. "I know this is short notice, but are you free tomorrow?"

"What makes you think I'd be free on New Year's Eve? I have a very crafty girlfriend who I'm sure planned something extremely awesome for tomorrow, but if not, I can probably make time for you," Kim joked, sounding very nonchalant about it.

It was nice that Kim was comfortable enough to joke with her, Bonnie realized. It was even better that she did not feel any kind of anxiety over Kim joking. She recognized the comfort for both of them.

Bonnie laughed. "You seem to have a lot of faith in your girlfriend." Saying that made her tingle. _God, I've got it bad_.

"Well, she's amazing and…" Kim paused for a second. "Hot," she whispered.

 _Oh, god._ Bonnie felt like she might melt into her bed. She barely realized her free hand stroked her belly. It was not until she felt the waistband of her pajama pants that did she know. _Shit. Okay, no, bad Bonnie. Don't do that_. She pulled her hand away and tucked it under her chin for safe keeping.

"Tell me more," Bonnie purred. _Okay, that's not helping_. She did not mean to do that, but it was about the only way her voice could go now. She could have sworn she heard Kim gulp. _You're making her uncomfortable. Cut it out_. She took a breath before daring to speak again. "Or maybe I could tell you about my awesome, perfect girlfriend." Thankfully, she sounded a little more normal.

"Yeah?" Kim squeaked.

The nervousness in Kim's voice made Bonnie feel naughty, in a good way. "Yeah. Let me tell you all about her. But, first, I want you to be comfortable. Are you comfortable?"

"Uh-huh."

The sound of Kim's voice, nervous and unsure, made Bonnie smile a bit. "Tell me where you are, so I know you're comfortable."

Kim giggled. "I'm in bed, silly. It's twelve o'clock."

Bonnie's eyes rolled without her permission. _I'm dating a goober_. But, she knew that and it was one of the many things she adored about Kim. "I know that. But, are you lying down like you're about to go to sleep or propped up on your pillows?" She wanted to try to get Kim a little more comfortable with the idea of them being together physically.

"Propped up."

So, Kim was in for the long haul, expecting a real conversation. Bonnie would not disappoint. "So, like I said, let me tell you about my girlfriend. She's an amazing person who helps out anyone who asks her in any way that she can. She's confident. To an annoying degree sometimes, but I'm all about that. It's so sexy," she purred.

"Sexy?" Kim squeaked, as if she did not expect Bonnie to say anything.

"Oh, yeah, she's so sexy. She curves in all the right places. I just want to put my hands all over her," Bonnie said honestly. She wanted Kim to know how hot she really was and how much control Bonnie showed when they made out. They had not even gone to second base yet. She wanted Kim to set the pace, wanted Kim to be comfortable.

"You do?" Kim's voice cracked.

"I do." Bonnie's hand strayed again as she thought about caressing Kim. "Do you want to know what I would do if I could put my hands all over her?"

"Uh…" Kim swallowed loudly. "I do… but, I don't think you should tell me now."

Bonnie laughed to herself. "When should I tell you?"

"I don't know, but not now."

"Okay." She hoped soon. Yes, they were both closeted and could not touch much in public, but there was always the privacy of Kim's room. She wanted so much for those deep kisses to turn into equally deep caresses soon. "Did I got too far?"

"No… I think you just made it real, though."

Bonnie's face scrunched up. "Made what real?" _I thought we were real_. They were real to her, anyway.

"This desire I have in me."

A sigh of relief escaped Bonnie. Kim did not mean their relationship, but sexual impulses. It was nice to know Kim wanted her, too. So, maybe things would happen sometime soon. She would do her best not to press… maybe just push a little like she did right now.

Kim continued. "I like being with you, Bonnie. I definitely enjoy your company and your kisses even more. Underneath it, there's a tugging for more, but I ignored it. I didn't… _don't_ want to just mess around with you."

Bonnie chuckled that time. "You noble idiot. I know you don't want to just mess around with me. You show me all the time that it's about more than my body for you. Actually, most of the time, I'm not sure if you realize I have a body. You're sort of content with my head and one hand."

"I'm not! I mean, I am, but… I do want more." Kim's words were low and she sounded nervous. It was a little flattering to know she made the girl who could do anything nervous.

"Whenever you're ready."

"Really?" Kim squeaked, as if this surprised her.

"Of course." She wanted everything to work out with Kim. Plus, she knew what it was like to be pressured for sex. She knew what they could do to a person. She never wanted Kim to question their time together… or for it to feel dirty.

"Okay."

"I mean it. The last thing I want…" She wanted to explain, so Kim would believe her, but she did not want to remind how used she was. Would Kim even want her when Kim remembered all of the rumors about her? Or the fact that at least half of them were true?

"Bonnie," Kim chimed in, cutting off Bonnie's thoughts. It was like she knew Bonnie was going to a dark place and she saved her.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Bonnie smiled. "No need, but that's just one of the other things that makes my girlfriend so great."

"What?"

"She thanks people when she doesn't need to. She has amazing manners. I think I might need to learn from her."

Kim laughed a little. "A little manners never hurt, but I do admire that you never let people push you around."

Bonnie was silent for a moment. If only Kim knew. She had been a punching bag practically her whole life and not just the obvious. Yeah, her sisters lit into her and her father, especially after he had a couple of drinks. But, she had stupidly let people like Lance take advantage of her. It was only recently that she felt secure enough in her position at school to not take shit from anyone. Before that, she had just been a bully to people she felt were beneath her, but she was fair game to anyone above her.

"I try. Sometimes, I succeed and other times…" Bonnie said, wanting to open up, but not sure how.

"I'm here when you're ready to talk about it." Kim's voice was soft, gentle, and understanding, just like she was.

"I know, but for now, we should get to sleep. Oh, are your parents okay with you hanging out past your curfew for one night?"

"I'll work my way around it."

Bonnie smiled. The things Kim was willing to do for her. "You're too good to me."

"Not at all. Do you need me to bring anything?"

"I think I have it all." The most trouble she would have was getting it all out without someone asking her a bunch of questions. She should be fine, though. Her sisters usually went out early and stayed out for New Years and her parents went to bed early. It should be fine. Or so she told herself to keep her nerve.

-8-8-8-8-

"I'm sorry it's so cold," Bonnie apologized as she and Kim marched through the snow-covered woods. Night had set in hours ago, as it was close to midnight. It had been easy to sneak out for Bonnie, just like she thought. She had met Kim by the official entrance for the Middleton Forest and they were on their way.

"For the last time, Bonnie, it doesn't bother me. I do stuff like this all the time," Kim assured her. She had one of the duffle bags Bonnie originally carried slung over her shoulder. There were necessary items in the bag, but Kim did not ask questions about any of it, allowing Bonnie her surprise.

"But, I promise this is worth it," Bonnie said.

"I'm sure it will be."

Bonnie smiled at Kim, even though it did not matter because she had on a scarf. It was too dark for Kim to even see the smile in her eyes. But, still, she smiled.

"So, where are we headed?" Kim asked as Bonnie led the way, a flashlight in hand.

"As you would say, it's a surprise," Bonnie answered.

Kim laughed and followed Bonnie through the dark woods, hiking up a trail. It was not a long walk, but it was cold, even with their winter gear on. Bonnie hoped she could last out here until her surprise happened. They came to a hill overlooking Middleton.

"It's a little further," Bonnie told Kim.

"I'm good. Keep going," Kim replied. "How'd you find this place anyway?"

"Um… I'll tell you when we get there," Bonnie answered. They were now veering off the known path where all the teenagers hung out when they were bored. They went further up the hill and then came to a rocky outcropping. They made it to a fairly big plateau.

"Oh, wow…" Kim muttered, obviously seeing the view.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Bonnie asked, staring out onto Middleton. They could see the whole town from where they were. The lights all looked like stars on the ground.

Kim did not respond, but she took Bonnie's hand and just held it, which was better than any words. They stood there for a few seconds, just admiring the view. Kim pulled her a little closer, wrapping an arm around her waist and still holding her hand. Eventually, they decided to unpack.

"You brought a pop tent?" Kim asked with an arched eyebrow.

"In case we get cold. I got a small heater, too. Your Kimmunicator could handle powering that, right?" Bonnie inquired.

"Yeah. No big," Kim scoffed.

"Good. So, let's get comfortable, so we can watch the fireworks."

Kim nodded. "It'll be amazing."

Bonnie agreed, which was why she set this whole thing up. Thankfully by the time they set up the blanket Bonnie brought for them to sit on and had hot drinks in hand, carried in two thermos, the fireworks were about to start. They sat shoulder to shoulder with Kim's arm around Bonnie's waist and Bonnie's arm around Kim's waist. Bonnie rested her head against Kim's shoulder.

As soon as the first firework burst in the air, Bonnie turned to Kim. "Happy New Year," she whispered.

"Happy New Year, Bonnie," Kim replied and then she closed the small distance between them. Her lips captured Bonnie's mouth in a soft, tender kiss. As she pulled back, she stared at Bonnie in concern. "You're cold," she stated.

"But, you're very warm," Bonnie replied earnestly.

"Let's go in the tent and use the heater for a little while."

"But, the rest of the fireworks." Bonnie motioned out to the sky where the fireworks bursts in wonderful displays over the awe-inspiring view of Middleton.

"We can watch through the tent flap. It's better than you sitting out here freezing to death."

Bonnie did not argue and they settled into the pop tent with the heater connected to the Kimmunicator. It worked like a charm. They remained huddled close and watched the fireworks display. Bonnie smiled to herself as she felt Kim rubbing circles along her spine.

"So, how's you find this place?" Kim asked, leaning over and kind of nuzzling Bonnie. It was more of a gesture than anything else because Bonnie had on a scarf and a thick winter coat that was zipped past her neck.

Bonnie sighed. "I want to be more open with you," she said honestly.

Kim looked her dead in the eye. "You can trust me with anything."

"I found this place after I left a little crappy forest party for some alone time. Sometimes, I just need to be by myself, away from all of the craziness and drinking and groping and crap," Bonnie sighed.

"Sometimes, you need to not be the center of attention?" Kim guessed.

"Or maybe not the center of bad attention. It gets tiring having to wear the armor and the facade all the time and so I sometimes just go off to be alone. One of those times, I found this place. I think I sat up here all night just looking at the town. I felt… good, I suppose, for the first time in a long time," Bonnie explained as best she could.

She doubted "good" was even the right word for it. She just felt… unburdened. For a while, she was just Bonnie, not the popular cheerleader or something worse. It was the first time she actually realized somewhere in there was a Bonnie who did not want those things. There was a Bonnie she buried under all of that mess and sometimes that Bonnie just needed to breathe.

"You don't need the armor or the facade around me," Kim said, rubbing Bonnie's back again.

"I know," Bonnie sighed. "You don't need armor around me, either. I'm done being that Bonnie with you."

Kim laughed. "I know, which is why we're here."

"Speaking of being here, how did you manage to get out?" Bonnie asked.

"By doing exactly what we're doing."

"What do you mean?"

"I had a feeling you wanted to watch the fireworks, so I asked my parents if it was okay. Since it's not a school night, they were all right with us going out to see the fireworks. Of course, they'll be jealous to know I had an even better view than they did."

"Your parents watched the fireworks?" Bonnie asked.

"On the roof of the house. They let the tweebs fantasize about doing their own rockets."

"Is that what you usually do?" Bonnie inquired.

Kim shrugged. "It depends. When I was younger, yeah. Last year, they let me run off on a mission. The year before that, they trusted me and Ron to go wander downtown, but Ron's mother was with us. We got to see the fireworks from the town square, which I thought was awesome until tonight. This was just amazing, Bonnie."

"I'm glad you liked it and I'm glad you didn't have to lie to come out here tonight."

Kim smiled and moved a little, pulling off her glove. She caressed Bonnie's cheek with a warm hand. Bonnie turned just enough to press a light kiss to Kim's palm.

"Were you serious about last night?" Kim asked.

"Well, we're in a relationship, right?" Bonnie countered.

A small smile settled on Kim's face. "This is true."

"You've thought about it, right?" Bonnie did not want to be alone in this. She did not want to be the only one having dreams and almost touching herself late at night to the thought of Kim. Well, sometimes more than _almost_.

"Yes," Kim whispered, leaning forward and giving Bonnie a kiss.

Bonnie returned the kiss and felt like the heat in the tent went up some. Kim pressed forward even more, tongue sliding across Bonnie's lips. Bonnie wasted no time opening up, her tongue meeting Kim's. Kim was wonderful and warm, tasting of honey, peppermint tea from her thermos, and all things right. Bonnie hated needing to break away for air.

"When you kiss me like that, how can I _not_ think about it?" Kim asked, breathing hard.

Bonnie laughed a little. "I'd say the same, but you said all that needed to be said."

Kim stroked her cheek again, using her thumb this time. "I don't think I'm ready for that, though."

"That's fine, Kim. I don't want to pressure you or make you do anything you're not ready for. This should go at your pace," Bonnie replied. She did not want Kim to have regrets like she did.

"Thank you." Kim leaned in and gave her a quick peck.

Bonnie smiled. "Don't thank you. I'm just being an awesome girlfriend," she remarked with a grin.

Kim laughed. "You _are_ an awesome girlfriend."

Bonnie chuckled a bit, too. "I'm glad you think so…"

"You don't have to worry so much, babe."

Being called "babe" drew another laugh from Bonnie. "You're so goddamn cute."

Bonnie leaned in for another kiss before Kim could reply. Kim wasted no time returning it. Her hand moved from Bonnie's cheek to the back of her head. Kim's hand settled underneath the beanie Bonnie had on. She pressed Bonnie closer, not that Bonnie needed the encouragement. Bonnie needed air before Kim, who placed kisses along Bonnie's face.

"I do want to do more, though," Kim confessed in a low breath, kissing Bonnie's lips once more.

"More?" Bonnie echoed in a bit of a daze. Kim wanted to do more? _Okay, keep down that body heat and blood you do not go anywhere_. Her body refused to listen, though. She throbbed at the thought of "more," whatever the hell more was.

"Yeah, I want to do more. We're going on three months soon. I don't want to be with you for six months or a year and we've only kissed. I mean, we could be friends who kiss and my feelings are so much more than that," Kim explained.

Bonnie's head started swimming at "be with you for… a year." A year with Kim? Kim saw them together in the future. Her heart thumped heavy in her chest.

"Bonnie, you okay?" Kim asked, studying her with concerned olive eyes.

"Yeah," Bonnie sounded dazed to her own ears and had to rub her forehead to get her thoughts together. "It's just… every moment with you is like some crazy dream and then you say something like that and I'm floating off into space, feeling so…" She shook her head. She did not even know what she felt. Was this what it was like to be wanted for just who she was? Recognized for being herself?

Kim gave her a smile and caressed the back of her head. "I feel the same way. I never would've thought you were the one for me, Bonnie. I mean, being with you… it feels right. I'm comfortable and I'm not self-conscious. I don't get nervous around you. You know me and you accept me. There aren't conditions to be with you."

Bonnie was surprised Kim felt that way because that was exactly the way she felt. She knew Kim was insecure in a lot of ways. Hell, she had exploited those many times in the past, but to hear Kim say it, was beyond words.

"There aren't conditions to being with me, so don't think you need to be ready for anything anytime soon," Bonnie said.

Kim smiled more and leaned in for another kiss. "I know, but don't think teasing me last night was all for naught. You got to me, Bonnie. I've got the hormones of a sixteen year old, too."

Bonnie tittered. "Well, trust me, I'm here when you're ready."

There was a nod. "I know, but for now, maybe we should hike back. I don't want you to freeze on this hillside."

Bonnie laughed. "I'm not that cold. The heater's working pretty well. Let's stay here a little longer." She cuddled in close to Kim.

Kim nodded again and pulled Bonnie as close as possible. Sighing, Bonnie rested her head against Kim's shoulder once more. Best New Year's ever. Hopefully, the rest of the year would go so well.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Landing Amongst the Stars

Kim stared out of the tent flap. The fireworks had stopped a while ago and they should probably start packing up to go home, but she could not find it in her to suggest it again. She would wait for Bonnie and until that time, she decided to just enjoy Bonnie's weight against her.

The heater worked to the point where Kim had removed her coat and Bonnie opened her own. They refused to move away from each other, though. Bonnie cuddled even closer actually once Kim's coat was gone.

For the moment, they enjoyed their time in silence, which Kim was fine with. Her fingers ran up and down Bonnie's arm and side, thinking about what it might feel like to do this to Bonnie's whole body. She knew eventually the curiosity would get to her, but it still made her nervous.

She had never gone all the way and she knew Bonnie was very aware of that. Plus, if rumors were to be believed, Bonnie had done more than gone all the way. She was not sure how she felt about this. Maybe she feared being inadequate.

"You okay?" Bonnie asked.

"I'm fine…" Kim replied.

"You're a little tense."

"Oh. I guess I just got lost in my thoughts."

Bonnie cuddled just a little closer and put her arms around Kim's waist. "Anything you want to talk about?"

Did she want to talk about this? No, not right this moment. She was certain she would crush the mood if she asked about Bonnie's sexual history. Hell, she was not even sure if she wanted to know about Bonnie's sexual history right now.

"No, I don't think I'm ready to share this yet," Kim said.

Bonnie pouted a little. "No?"

Kim kissed the top of her head. "Are you ready to share everything yet?"

Chuckling, Bonnie smiled. "I guess not."

"But, I want you to know I'm happy to be here with you. I'm happy you shared this with me." She pulled Bonnie as close as she could.

Bonnie sighed. She sounded so content that it made Kim's insides buzz just a little. It felt so good to bring this level of comfort to Bonnie.

"I want to share everything with you, eventually," Bonnie said.

"Me, too." This was the truth. She was invested in this. She ran her hand through Bonnie's hair, finding it soothing.

"I like this…" Bonnie sighed.

"I do, too. I never thought we'd get to this point, even when you asked me out. I'm happy with this outcome, though. I'm happy with you. I hope this year is our year," Kim declared.

Smiling up at her, Bonnie moved and came in for a kiss. Kim wasted no time meeting her. This was a wonderful way to start a year.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Bonnie gets her report card and Kim makes a decision.


	11. Up and Down

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

11: Up and Down

The fall semester was over and Bonnie had waited patiently — in her opinion anyway — for the end of the day for her report card. It was the moment of truth and even though she felt tense enough to snap, she had managed to avoid it all day. Her stomach was in knots, though, which she suspected was because she had not snapped on anyone.

Now, if her grades had not improved, then someone was going to get crucified if they said the wrong thing to her. When her homeroom teacher placed the paper in her hand and smiled at her, she suspected she had done as well as she hoped. Still, her stomach flipped and she had to take a deep breath before she could look.

Glancing down, she could hardly believe her eyes. "I've got a B average," she whispered in awe.

The last time she had seen a B was four years ago in seventh grade science. Someone called her a nerd right after and clearly meant it as an insult. There went the rest of her drive to achieve academically. What was the point, anyway? She would never match up to Connie, who let her know she was stupid anyway. So, she should let it go anyway, she had reasoned. Well, never again.

"I'm going to do my best," she promised herself, hugging her report card to her chest. She would cherish this and not let some outside opinion ruin it for her.

She rushed off, wanting to show Kim before they had cheer practice. Unfortunately, Kim was with Ron and Monique, sharing grades. Their friend Felix was there, too. Bonnie still had not officially met him and today would not be the day she did. She had little desire to get into things with Monique, so she just went to practice. She could tell Kim about her grades after practice.

All of the cheerleaders were already in the gym, going on and on about their report cards. There were some tears. Any failing grades meant no cheer squad, so there might be a few open spots soon. They all turned to her, gazing at her with expectant eyes.

"What do you have, Bonnie? I went up a little," Tara reported with a grin, throwing her arms around Bonnie. Tara had gotten more touchy with her. Not in a bad way, but like she believed Bonnie had softened. Bonnie did not mind, so Tara was probably right.

Bonnie grinned and decided to show off because she went up, way up. Sure, it was probably a drop in the bucket of her overall high school GPA, but still, this was the first time in a long time she allowed the Bonnie inside of her to take over. She dropped a little of the armor and this was what she had to show for it.

"Oh, my god!" Tara screamed as Bonnie held up her report card.

"Get the hell out of here!" Marcella declared, looking at Bonnie's report card over her shoulder. "How the hell did you jump a whole grade!"

"I guess studying with Kim paid off. Or have you just been cheating off of her?" Janet, one of the lesser cheerleaders in the totem pole, sneered. She was probably on her way off the team, which was why she was so openly snotty to Bonnie. Only someone with nothing to lose would snap at her like this.

"Maybe you should try cheating off someone. Anything to get rid of your failing average," Bonnie bit back. Tara, still hanging on Bonnie, laughed.

Janet's cerulean gaze narrowed. "Oh, please. We all know you didn't earn those grades. The only brains you know about are in some guy's pants."

The others gasped, sucking all the air out of the gym. The reaction fed Janet. She dared to smirk at Bonnie. It was on.

Bonnie squared her shoulders and Tara took a step back. While new Bonnie might not need as much armor as old Bonnie, she damn sure still carried all of old Bonnie's weapons. She was about to use her arsenal to decapitate this idiot.

"Still, making me a hell of a lot smarter than you, who can't figure out how to tie your shoes," Bonnie remarked, motioning down to the slip-on sneakers Janet had a habit of wearing.

Janet's face went red. "These are stylish, but you don't know anything about that! Everything you wear is last season."

Scoffing and keeping her calm, Bonnie rolled her eyes. "First off, those are knock offs. I don't even have to say anything about them beyond that—" She was cut off before she got to really dig in.

"Is not about cheer practice, so let's get to that," Kim announced, clapping her hands while prancing in as cool as one would expect. She probably did not even look at her report card, having been a straight A student since kindergarten.

Bonnie looked at Janet, daring her to contradict Kim. Janet fell in line, though. Probably hoping it would save her when the cuts came. Bonnie went on her way as well, not bothering with Janet for now. If she started up at any point in time, though, Bonnie would take her apart.

"That was awesome," Tara said to her.

Bonnie was not sure if Tara meant the insult or her report card. She did not ask. It did not matter. The only thing that mattered was getting through practice, so she could show Kim her report card.

Kim eyed Tara for a moment. She had undoubtedly saw Tara hanging off of Bonnie earlier. Bonnie laughed a little, but did not say anything. It was not like she could tease Kim about being a little jealous of Tara right now.

Practice actually went smoothly. Kim and Bonnie were in sync with each other. Everyone went through their routines just about right, except for Janet anyway.

A couple of the girls had to stay behind, needing to talk to the coach. Janet was one of them. No matter what they said, though, if their averages had fallen to a D, they would not be allowed on the team. If they had failed any classes, they would also not be allowed on the team.

"Hey, want to come celebrate with the rest of us?" Tara asked Bonnie, motioning to their usual group of top cheerleaders.

Bonnie glanced at Kim, who always stayed behind if there were things to up away. She shook her head. "No, I think I want to bask in this on my own for a while."

Tara looked at her for a moment and then her eyes strayed to Kim. "Alone or you want to show your tutor she did a good job?"

Sucking her teeth, Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I'm not letting anybody know anything."

Tara laughed and put her hand on Bonnie's shoulder. "It's okay. We all know you're friends with Kim. Now, I don't know if she really helped you get your grades or anything, but if she did, that's cool."

Bonnie sighed and she wanted to say something snippy, but held off. There was no reason to bite Tara's head off and she was being supportive. Not too many people was supportive of her friendship with Kim. Actually, Ron and Tara seemed to be pretty much it. Everyone else just assumed Kim was tutoring Bonnie out of the kindness of her heart or Bonnie was seriously trying to set Kim up for some kind of fall.

"Thanks, Tara," Bonnie said.

Tara smiled. "No problem. But, gimme a call sometime soon and we can go out. I mean, my report card looked good, too." Then, she left with the others.

Bonnie went to help Kim and they handled the cleanup. Bonnie wanted to tell Kim all about her grades, but she also wanted to jump Kim's body while doing it, so she held off.

"So, should I worry about you going all caveman on Tara?" Bonnie teased as she and Kim folded up the mats.

Kim scoffed. "No more than I have to worry about you doing that with Ron."

"Then, it's very likely. I'm don't suffer idiots," Bonnie remarked with a grin.

Kim laughed. "Leave Ron alone. You know you like him."

Bonnie blew a raspberry and then remembered they were not alone. She glanced over at the coach and the soon-to-be ex-cheerleaders. They seemed very interested in their own conversation, but Bonnie figured it would be best for her and Kim to get out of the gym. So, Bonnie doubled her effort and Kim followed her lead.

-8-8-8-8-

The moment she got the chance, Bonnie literally jumped Kim's body while showing Kim her grades. They made it up to Kim's room and sat on the floor and then Bonnie launched herself on Kim. Kim caught her, laughing the whole time.

"I got a B average, Kim! A _B_!" Bonnie squealed. "Look how much my grades went up!" She pretty much shoved her report card in Kim's face.

Kim laughed more as she tried her best to orientate them someway, but Bonnie was not sure how. They were lying on the floor, Kim on her side and Bonnie plastered on top of her. Bonnie could not stop moving, trying to cuddle and rock Kim in her excitement. Kim moved her head back a little, needing some space between her and the report card to actually see anything.

"Wow. You did really good," Kim commented.

"Yes! Look at how I went up from the first marking period to the last and you should see my last term report card compared to this!" Bonnie squealed.

Kim smiled. "Hopefully, it'll keep going up."

"I'm going to do my best. Oh, god, Kim, maybe I can go to college!" Bonnie realized with a gasp. It was not something she really thought about until that very moment. College always seemed like this grand thing that only someone like Connie could go to and she was nowhere near as smart as Connie.

The soft smile remained on Kim's face. "I'm sure you could go to college."

"Oh, maybe I should take the SATs!" Bonnie was not sure why, but she felt so hyper. She wanted to bounce all around the room, but she did not want to leave Kim's side. So, she settled for squeezing Kim a little tighter.

"Yes, you should," Kim stated, very serious. Her forehead wrinkled and she stared at Bonnie, studying her. "You haven't taken the SATs yet?"

"No. Have you?"

"Yeah, I took the SATs. Oh, god, we need to sign you up for that. I took the SATs, the ACT, and even a couple of SAT twos. We definitely have to get on that for you. Bonnie, we have to sign up for colleges next year. I need you to think about that," Kim said.

"I never thought about it because my grades are always so blah, but look at this!" Bonnie waved her report card around before putting it back in Kim's face. "If I keep this up, they'll see a great improvement and colleges might actually want me!" She felt like she might split her face open from grinning so hard.

"Girls, is everything all right up here?" Mrs. Possible emerged from the stairs and stopped to stare.

Bonnie was still pressed against Kim, draped on her pretty much. They were both red from laughing, and shouting in Bonnie's case. The doctor squinted a little. She looked like she was processing the scene, undoubtedly trying to figure out how they got in such a position. Bonnie acted quickly.

"Everything's great! My grades went up a whole ten points!" Bonnie picked herself up and presented her report card to Mrs. Possible. "I know a B doesn't mean much to you with two genius kids and little Miss Perfect, but this is incredible for me!" She gave Kim a wink to let her know she was teasing with the "little Miss Perfect" line.

Mrs. Possible smiled slightly, but still a little taken aback. "That's impressive, Bonnie."

"I might actually be able to go to college!" Bonnie jumped up and down. Literally jumped up and down. She felt like her skin would not be able to contain her.

Mrs. Possible glanced down at Kim, who now sat up on the floor. Kim shrugged. They would never understand, Bonnie knew. But, still, she was excited.

"I've got to take Bonnie to sign for the SAT," Kim said to her mother.

Mrs. Possible's brow furrowed and she turned to Bonnie. "You haven't taken it yet, sweetie?"

Bonnie shook her head. "No, I didn't think about it. I mean, I never even really thought about college."

"No?" Mrs. Possible said the one word like it was the only impossible thing she had ever heard of. Bonnie imagined that neither side of Kim's family ever stopped and thought about _not_ attending college.

"No," Bonnie admitted.

"So, what's up, Mom?" Kim asked, possibly to save this situation from getting awkward… more so than it already was.

Mrs. Possible shook her head. "Nothing. I was curious about why you were making so much noise and I knocked, but you didn't respond. Now, I know the reason for both." She shrugged and then turned her attention to Bonnie, flashing the girl a bright smile. "Congratulations, Bonnie. I hope your grades continue to go up."

Bonnie smiled back. "Thanks. I think as long as I keep trying, I should be good. Plus, Kim's here to help me."

Kim nodded. "That I am."

"All right. Well, carry on celebrating," Mrs. Possible said with a light laugh and she turned around to leave. She paused as she got to the stairs. "Oh, Bonnie, are you staying for dinner again?"

"If it's not too much trouble," she replied. She needed time to revel in her grades and this feeling before she went home. If Connie or Lonnie noticed she was in a good mood, they would go out of their way to ruin it. If her report card had been mailed home and her mother saw it, she would then spend the rest of the night cooing after Bonnie as if she hung the sun in the sky, which would spoil her mood as well.

"Never," Mrs. Possible replied and then she vanished down the stairs.

Sighing, Bonnie fell back to the floor, right in Kim's lap. She gave Kim a dazed smile. Kim leaned down and kissed her. They both smiled as Kim pulled away.

"I guess I shouldn't make so much noise," Bonnie commented, putting a hand up to caress Kim's cheek.

Kim pressed a light kiss to Bonnie's palm. "You have a right to be excited. If you keep these grades up, you should be able to get into a good school."

Bonnie smiled. "College…" The word caused her heart to flutter, but her stomach flipped just a bit. This was new territory, but if she had not learned anything these past few months, new did not always mean bad.

Kim studied her for a moment, all squinting and furrowed eyebrows. "Have you seriously never considered college?"

"No. For me, college was some amazing place smart people like Connie went and my grades proved I was no Connie. Now, don't get me wrong, these grades are no Connie either, but now I know I don't need to be valedictorian or a straight A student from grade school to go to college. It's not some mythical, faraway place," Bonnie replied.

"You're older and wiser now," Kim smiled, reaching down and caressing Bonnie's abdomen. Bonnie openly purred.

"Yes. I am."

"Good. So, I'll go with you to get signed up for the SAT. It costs money," Kim told her, which was good because she never looked into it.

"How much?" Bonnie had a little saved up. Christmas money from the grandparents and a little from other odds and ends. Maybe she could get money from her father. Connie might have gotten money from him to pay for her SATs. _But, I doubt that_.

In fact, Bonnie thought about her father whenever Connie asked him for anything. He tended to go off like she asked for the moon. So, Connie probably just saved up money or figured out how to make the money to take the SAT. Maybe she could figure it out if she did not have enough.

Kim continued. "It's about fifty dollars. I think you should take the ACT, too. Just in case. We'll study for both of them, okay?"

Bonnie nibbled her bottom lip a little. "Do you think I'll do all right?" Forget the price, was this worth it? Could she do well enough on the SAT to actually go somewhere in life?

"I think you'll do fine," Kim replied, leaning down to give Bonnie a light kiss.

Bonnie smiled a little and then just reveled in Kim's touch against her stomach. Sure, her shirt was between them, but it was still nice. Kim had been doing little touches like this since their New Year's Eve date. Caressing had wandered from Bonnie's cheeks to arms and wrists, but the stomach was the most recent. She liked it a lot and wondered how it would feel on her bare skin.

Bonnie swallowed hard as her body throbbed at the thought of Kim's fingertips dancing along her skin. _No, no, no. Don't think like that. Think appropriate thoughts. Think appropriate thoughts_. She did not want to attract any more attention with her noise, after all.

"Do you think your mother suspects something?" Bonnie asked. Mrs. Possible was not a fool, after all, and surely the scene she had just come across had to see off to her.

"I'm not sure. She never says anything about you coming over or staying in my room, but now that I think about it, maybe I should tell them," Kim replied.

"Tell them?" Bonnie yelped and sat up, needing to look Kim in the face, eye to eye. Oh, the hero was totally serious about that.

"Yeah. I don't like lying to my parents and not telling them is lying by omission. Besides, I feel really good about us and I feel like we've got a real shot, so I want them to know."

Sighing, Bonnie frowned. For a brief moment, she almost snapped and called Kim an idiot. She swallowed the insult down and pressed her palm to Kim's cheek. She caressed the entire side of Kim's face before allowing her fingers to play with Kim's ear. It gave her time to calm down.

"But, you know that means no more alone in the room together, no more sleepovers. We'll probably have to stay in the living room. Would I still be allowed to stay for dinner even?" Bonnie asked, the idea settling like a stone in her gut.

"I don't see why you wouldn't be able to stay for dinner, but you're right about everything else. Being in the living room isn't appealing at all. The tweebs would never leave us alone." This drew a scowl out of Kim.

"And when would we ever get a chance to do something like this?" Bonnie asked, falling back into Kim's lap. She felt bad trying to talk Kim out of being honest, but this was their own little bubble. As soon as other people knew about it, things would get complicated and complicated never meant good in her experience.

Kim sighed and her hand drifted back to Bonnie's abdomen, caressing the area once more. Her other hand went to Bonnie's hair. She ran her fingers through Bonnie's mane and if there was a heaven, this was it.

"Maybe we can work something out," Kim said.

"Really? You think your parents are gonna work something out to let the two hormonal teenagers be alone?" Bonnie asked. It was not likely and that was only if they were all right with Kim being in… a lesbian?… relationship. Were they lesbians? They did not seem to think so or had not labeled themselves as such anyway. Of course, Bonnie felt more and more like it was true for her. _Now isn't the time to think about this, though_.

Kim frowned more and thought on it for a moment. "I like to think they can be reasoned with."

Sensing her questions were upsetting Kim, not the idea they might not be able to be together if she told, Bonnie thought maybe she should try to smooth things over. After all, they had just been so happy. Her report was good, she could maybe go to college, and Kim wanted to help sign her up for tests. Now, it was like they were about to have an argument. But, then again, she needed Kim to live in reality for a second, not her happy world of positivity.

"Right. They can totally be reasoned with. Right after they accuse us of lying to them for three months, right? Well, more than three months because they might not believe we've only been going out for three months," Bonnie pointed out.

Kim stopped all touching. "My parents are fair and I don't want to be lying to them for more than three months."

Bonnie was about to argue, but looked at Kim and really remembered who this girl was. The one of the reasons Bonnie liked it over here so much was the sense of family and togetherness the Possibles shared. She did not think Kim's outcome was possible even with that. She did not want to be the reason the family had a rift.

"What if they stop liking me?" Bonnie whispered accidentally. She meant to keep that worry to herself.

"They won't. They're not like that, sweetheart," Kim replied in a low voice, fingers moving against Bonnie's scalp again.

"You say that now, but they know you're kind and good. They'll blame me for making you lie," Bonnie said. Even worse, they might blame her for "making" Kim gay. There went her stomach again.

"I wouldn't let them do that, even though I doubt they'd do that. Bonnie, they're pretty reasonable and I'm sure they'll let me explain everything. They're not just going to jump to the worse conclusion and ban you from the house," Kim tried to assure her.

The words in no way helped. Bonnie felt like she might throw up. This was probably the beginning of the end. _Well, you had a good run. I mean, you've never been able to hold onto something that made you happy for months. So, good job there_.

"Do you think you could wait before telling them?" Bonnie asked.

"How long?" Kim countered.

"I just want one more sleepover," Bonnie answered. One last night in their bubble before the world caved in on her would be nice. _Melodramatic much?_ Mentally, she scoffed. _I think this is a very valid concern. It's unrealistic to think her parents will be fine with me spending the night in her room once they find out we're dating. I'll be lucky if they let me back in the house after they find out we're dating. It's not like they don't know me or anything_.

Kim smiled softly. "That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"I think so." Bonnie sighed. "So, are you going to tell anyone else?" If Kim was ready to be out, they were probably going to have a problem because she doubted she would be ready while they were in freaking high school. The last thing she wanted to do was defend her relationship to every idiot that wanted to pop off.

"I think I just want to tell my parents. I mean, I don't like lying to Ron or Monique, but I know Monique's not going to have a great reaction and Ron might just tell everyone from shock. Maybe over the summer with Ron," Kim mused.

Bonnie sighed in relief and hoped Kim did not take it as relief. But, from the way Kim stared at her, she assumed Kim knew exactly why her body suddenly relaxed. Kim tapped lightly against Bonnie's stomach.

"You don't have anyone you want to tell?" Kim asked curiously.

"No," Bonnie answered bluntly.

"Not even your parents?"

Bonnie snorted. "I barely tell my parents my name and you want me to tell them I'm in a relationship with a girl? Yeah, it's not happening."

"Why not?"

"Look, my parents aren't your parents. Just leave it at that," Bonnie huffed. She was certain this was a banishing offense. She could already see her mother bursting into tears and her father happily kicking her out, having one less mouth to feed.

Kim sighed. "I don't want to make any problems for you."

"And I don't want you to break your moral code for me." Bonnie reached up and put her hand over Kim's heart. "This is the best thing about you, Kim. Not just your ability to feel, empathize, and love, but also your ability to do what's right. You don't want to lie to your parents and you know it's not right. You want to do the right thing and I respect that."

Kim leaned down and pressed her forehead to Bonnie's. "I don't want to hurt you."

Bonnie doubted there was a way around that if Kim wanted to tell her parents. No matter what, this little world they had would be gone. And, if they did not have this, Bonnie did not see how they could exist as a couple. They could not show affection or touch more than casually outside of this room. They would not kiss outside of these walls. Hell, they could barely speak affectionate words anywhere else. This was them and it was going away.

"So, one more sleepover then?" Kim said.

Bonnie grinned. At least she would have that. Maybe it would be enough.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Round and Around

Kim lay in bed, weighing out all she needed to do. It was such a weird day. Of course, the thing on her mind the most was Bonnie. A smile slid onto her face as she thought about how happy Bonnie was with her average. It was quite impressive to jump a whole letter in one semester.

Then, she thought about how she sort of zapped Bonnie of that buzzing glee when she brought up telling her parents. Maybe it was a bit of a mood killer, but this had been on her mind for a while. She was honest and true when she could be, especially with her parents. She could not take much more of this sneaking around, especially since she and Bonnie did a lot of relationship things in the house. Still, this had clearly brought Bonnie's mood down.

Picking up her Kimmunicator, she decided to call Bonnie, just to make sure she was all right. "Hey, sweetheart."

"Hey, baby," Bonnie replied with a little yawn.

"Were you asleep?" Now, she felt worse. Bonnie seemed to get very little sleep as it was, always up in the middle of the night if Kim called. She did not want to take a good night's sleep from Bonnie.

"No. Just tired." There was a faint noise in the background.

"What's all that noise?" Kim asked.

"It's nothing."

"You sure?"

"It's just my dad. Connie came in late… Never mind. It's just my dad overreacting to stuff. What's on your mind?"

Kim was quiet for a second. The noise in the background was Bonnie's dad? If Bonnie was in her room with the door shut and Kim could still hear him, it did not seem like nothing. It certainly did seem like an overreaction, though.

"Does he yell like that a lot?" Kim found herself asking.

"It's nothing, baby. Look, how about I talk to you tomorrow? I might be able to go to sleep now."

Kim felt even worse now. Bonnie was rushing her off the phone. _Geez, I'm really stinking this up_.

"Don't go yet!" Kim begged. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to do anything special for the sleepover." Maybe she could make things up to Bonnie.

"I just want to be with you, Kimmie. That's all I need."

Kim actually said, "Aw." She was not sure if she had ever actually made that sound in real life until this moment.

"It's true."

"Okay. Do you know when you want to go pay for the SAT and the ACT?" Kim asked. She wanted to make sure Bonnie stayed that course. There was a beautiful brain in there and it needed to be nurtured, especially after Bonnie's jerk sisters made her believe she was so inefficient.

"I'll have to try to get the money. I mean, I can pay for one, but both…"

"I could help."

"Kim…"

"What? You're my girlfriend. I spend money on you all the time anyway. Think of this as like a date."

Bonnie laughed. "So, you'll be sitting with me when I take both tests then?"

Kim smiled. "I would if I could, but you won't need me there. You'll kill 'em both on your own. You're _that_ awesome."

"You're too good for my ego."

And now Kim grinned like a fool. Bonnie sounded like she was all right. Still, Kim knew she had to make things up to Bonnie.

"I think you're too good for my ego," Kim replied.

Bonnie scoffed. "I think your ego is perfectly fine without me." Then, she yawned.

"You should go to sleep." Kim glanced at the clock. "I should, too, actually. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, baby."

They blew each other kisses through the phone and then Kim disconnected the call. Sighing, she stared up at her dark ceiling. The phone call left her feeling just a little worse.

The most troubling thing was the yelling. It was not the first time Kim heard the noise, but the first time she brought it up. At first, she thought it was Connie and Lonnie. After briefly meeting them, they seemed like the type to argue and snipe at each other if they could not get to Bonnie. Kim never thought it might Bonnie's father, though.

Bonnie's parents had not been home when Kim had gone there. She and Bonnie had briefly been stuck together. It was a weird day and Kim had not thought much of it. Now, it was just another thing stuck in her head about Bonnie.

"I just want to make everything good for her." Sighing, Kim rubbed her face with both hands. One thing at a time. She would do her best to make the sleepover the best sleepover ever. Bonnie deserved that.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: a visit to the college office and a sleepover.


	12. Holding On

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

12: Holding On

Kim knew exactly where the school's "college office" was while Bonnie had no idea there was a college office. She had a money order and was ready to apply for the SATs at Kim's insistence. She would pay for and register for the ACT later, when she got the money for it. Who knew a test could cost so much money?

Technically, the school was closed, but not really. It was the winter break. Students who needed to make up state tests had the chance to do so now and teams all still had practice, which was why the school was actually opened. They were not sure if anyone would be in the college office, though. The staff had the week off as well, after all.

"Someone should be there. I mean, I'm sure there are still some seniors who haven't applied to college yet and they're freaking out and need someone there for them, right?" Kim commented, probably just to make Bonnie feel better.

"And I'm sure somewhere there's a college adviser, enjoying this vacation, and thinking to himself ' screw the seniors. They can wait,'" Bonnie remarked with a slightly unsettled laugh. This just seemed crazy and it was hard to wrap her mind around it. She might go to college.

"Well, it's okay. If there's no one there, we'll just come back when school starts. I mean, it's not like the money order's burning your pocket, right?" Kim teased, bumping Bonnie with her hip.

Bonnie laughed and resisted the urge to take Kim's hand. She wished she could, though. It would probably settle her down a little. _Well, if you were out you could_. Of course, they would be out soon. In fact, after their sleepover tonight, Kim would tell her parents. From there, who knew what might happen.

 _What if they want to talk to my parents?_ The very thought caused her stomach to fall into her feet. Her mother would cry, maybe even disown her. The thought caused an odd twist in her guts. _No, Mom wouldn't do that… right? And if she did, why should I care?_ Still, her guts remained twisted.

Her father would definitely disown her. It would not be much of a lose, except she would be homeless. _Would that be so bad?_

"Bonnie," Kim said, tugging on her hand. When had Kim taken her hand?

"Huh?" Bonnie replied.

"I've said your name like four times and you're not answering. Are you okay? Nervous about the SAT?" Kim asked.

"A little," Bonnie lied. She would not admit to being scared out of her mind about coming out because then Kim would probably hold off on doing it and then Kim's conscience would eat away at her because she was lying to her parents by omission. No, Bonnie would just swallow this. She had handled worse situations… not that she could think of any right now.

"It'll be fine," Kim practically chirped. "I'll help you study. I have an SAT prep book. It helped Ron a lot."

"Ron took the SAT?" Bonnie asked. She had allowed Ron to beat her at something intellectual? _I should be utterly and completely ashamed of myself_. And then the voice in the back of her head let out a dark chuckle. _You only just now realized this? You're as much of an idiot as Connie and Lonnie think you are_.

"Yeah, he took it with me. He did… all right," Kim replied.

Bonnie knew the hesitation meant Ron had not done well. Well, it was impossible to fail the SAT, so he had that in his favor, just like she did. Kim had undoubtedly blown the test out of the water. Bonnie was not sure how she would do. Maybe this was just a waste of time and money. She could get Kim a really nice gift with fifty dollars.

Before she could make that suggestion, they made it to the college office. There was someone there, too. Along with applying for the SAT, Bonnie got some college brochures for local schools. _Wow_. She might actually go to college, like for real. She felt a little lightheaded at the thought this time. Kim guided her out of the office with a hand at the small of her back.

"Kim, you can't keep touching me like this out in the open. Someone might see," Bonnie whispered.

Kim scoffed. "I'm just being supportive, a good friend. If anyone saw you right now, they'd know you're about to fall over and I'm preventing that."

Bonnie blinked several times, trying to wrap her mind around a proper response. Instead, all she could come up with was, "Really?"

"Bonnie, do you even know you're walking right now?"

 _Walking? Am I?_ "Uh…" Nope. It felt like she was floating.

A little laugh escaped Kim. "Exactly. What're you thinking about?"

"College."

"What about it?" Kim asked as she continued leading Bonnie with the hand on her back.

"How I might go. I feel like this made it real. Yeah, I entertained the thought after our report cards, but this is more than that. I mean, I just paid for a test! I've never paid for a test!" Bonnie felt a little hysterical and was fairly certain she was screaming when she should not be.

Kim laughed more and they were at the door when the day took a turn for the worse. There were football players outside and Lance was amongst them. He spotted them just as Kim opened the door for her. He glanced at where Kim's hand was and then strutted up to them.

"Hey, you two are looking pretty close," Lance commented with a smile. He probably thought he looked cute, but he was leering and it was creepy.

"Well, it's either I hold her up or she falls over from shockingly good news," Kim remarked.

Lance smirked. "Really? What's the good news, Bonnie?"

Bonnie straightened up, standing on her own. She gave him a hard stare. "The sun rose in the east. Don't you have practice to get to?"

His forehead wrinkled. "That's good news?"

"And this explains why you're a super senior," Bonnie muttered.

Lance leaned in closer to Kim and smiled more. Kim stepped back for a moment. Bonnie resisted the urge to put herself between her girlfriend and Lance, but she squared her shoulders, as if she was ready to pounce on him. Kim glanced at her, but did not say anything.

"So, Kim, I was thinking, if you're free later, you could hang out with me and a few of the guys. We're gonna go check out the bowling alley," Lance said.

"Uh, yeah, I'd love to, but I have some… saving the world stuff to do," Kim replied and she hurried off with Bonnie.

Snickering, Bonnie looked at her with an arched eyebrow. "Saving the world stuff?"

"The sun rose in the east?" Kim countered.

"What? It did and that's always good news. I figured an optimist like you could appreciate that. Besides, if I told him I signed up for the SAT, he'd be just as lost. He probably can't even spell SAT," Bonnie remarked.

Kim laughed. "You're so bad."

"You got off lucky with your 'saving the world stuff.' I've been to their trips to the bowling alley and the only reason they don't get banned is because Middleton doesn't have a professional sports team of any kind and Middleton High's teams win."

"Wow. What do they do?"

"Whatever they want and it's not pretty."

Kim did not ask for any more details and Bonnie was happy for that. "Let's go stock up for our sleepover. We'll get some snacks and everything."

"And nail polish. Your nails need it," Bonnie added.

Kim gave her an impish smile. If this was to be their last hoorah, Bonnie wanted it to count, even if they did silly juvenile things, too. It would be nice and innocent fun, like before. And then, come what may.

-8-8-8-8-

The sleepover had gone pretty much the same way the last one with, even though Bonnie could see Kim tried really hard to make less like a junior high thing. It was just hard to make a sleepover _less_ junior high. Maybe that was the target audience, but in the end, Bonnie did not mind, just like before.

They got some good cuddle time on the bed while watching a couple of movies. One day, when Bonnie had enough money to her name, she would go out and buy a laptop just to watch movies on. It would be a good way to remember this happiest time of her life.

There was pizza again with soda and lemonade. Bonnie gave Kim the best damned manicure she had ever given in her life and showed her a few tricks to do with makeup. Kim was surprisingly hopeless when it came to makeup beyond lipstick. They busied themselves going through clothing websites and picking out clothes they would never be able to afford. They giggled — genuinely giggled — over this while complimenting each other over their choices.

Now, it was late night… or early morning… and they were tucked into bed. Well, Bonnie was tucked into a pallet on the floor. Just like before, just as she settled in, she felt Kim pressed up against her. Turning, she was met by very wonderful, but greedy lips. Kim kissed her like it was the last one they would ever share. The only thing that kept Bonnie from moaning aloud was the fear it would stop or someone would come into the room.

Bonnie wrapped her arms around Kim's neck, pulling her closer. Kim moved as well, sliding on top of Bonnie. They separated for a breath and Bonnie stared at Kim.

"What do you think you're doing?" Bonnie asked in a low voice, not that she was complaining.

"Doing more," Kim whispered, leaning down to give Bonnie another kiss.

Bonnie moaned and ran her hands through Kim's hair. More sounded very good. She did not even know what "more" meant, but she would take more of whatever it was. Just more of Kim.

"Not all the way, though," Kim said, pulling away just a little.

"No problem," Bonnie replied and then she smiled softly. She scratched Kim's scalp a little. "Whatever you're comfortable with, I'm fine with. Hell, you could stay right there and keep kissing me like that and I'll be fine."

"Well, I'd like to start with that and then see how it goes," Kim answered, reaching up and brushing some of Bonnie's hair out of her face.

Bonnie smiled again. "You're so cute."

Kim seemed so unsure of herself and that was odd. This was Kim Possible, after all. But, she was also inexperienced in this area, in both general and being with a girl. Of course, Bonnie had never been with a girl either, but she really wanted to be with Kim.

"Just tell me if I do something you don't like, okay?" Kim asked.

"Ever the gentleman, huh?" Bonnie teased. She doubted there was anything in the world Kim could do that she would not like, but Kim needed to hear some sort of assurance. "I'll tell you and you do the same."

A small smile adorned Kim's face. "Okay."

Kim dived back in, kissing Bonnie with just as much passion as before. As their lips and tongues moved against each other, Kim slid Bonnie's cover down as much she could, which was not much. The blanket was trapped between their bodies and Kim had to pull away, earning a slight whine from Bonnie.

"Shhh," Kim smiled as she moved the blanket down to Bonnie's waist. Maybe it was a way to avoid temptation.

"You can't just stop like that then," Bonnie breathed. _God, I hope she's trainable, so she'll learn to never do that again_.

Kim chuckled. "Noted."

Bonnie could not help smiling at her and then Kim leaned down once more. Kim's weight on her felt so good, but Kim's mouth was even better. Bonnie was certain this memory would warm her on many nights to come. But, she would live in the moment and enjoy it while it lasted.

Bonnie's hands roamed Kim's bare shoulders, only occasionally running into the thin straps of her camisole. Kim had herself propped up on one elbow, but her other hand was free and that hand shyly touched Bonnie's belly. Then, she pulled her hand away.

"It's okay, Kim. It's okay," Bonnie whispered, trying her best not to sound desperate. Her skin craved Kim's touch now, having experience just that little bit.

Olive eyes locked onto Bonnie's face. "Is it?"

"Yes, baby. You can touch me. Touch me all you want," Bonnie replied. Out of all of the people she had been with, Kim was the one she truly wanted. There was no ulterior motive or manners of mutual use. This was just what a relationship should be — two people who wanted to be together because they had feelings for each other. Pure and simple.

Kim pulled away a little, as if she needed to look at Bonnie as best she could in the dark in the room while she started this new journey. Bonnie offered Kim an encouraging smile. Bonnie was not sure, but she thought she heard Kim swallow and then she felt a light touch.

First, it was just Kim's fingertips. They sort of ghosted across Bonnie's abdomen. Bonnie did her best not to squirm, but she chuckled a little. Kim's forehead wrinkled.

"Sorry. It tickles," Bonnie explained her giggles.

"I'm sorry," Kim said, moving her hand.

"No." Bonnie reached down and put Kim's hand right back where it was. "Please," she begged. _I want this so much_. It was not so much that she wanted sex with Kim, which would have been awesome, but she just wanted this sort of… intimacy she supposed. She wanted a deeper connection to Kim.

Kim swallowed so hard Bonnie was certain she heard it this time and then Kim nodded slowly. Kim looked down at her hand as she eased it against Bonnie's skin. The touch was still like Kim's hand was floating, but now it was her whole hand and not just her fingertips. Bonnie took her wrist and just directed Kim's hand over her stomach and then up her stomach, but no further. She continued this, wanting Kim to get comfortable with touching her.

"You feel really good," Kim whispered, almost as if she were in awe.

Bonnie laughed. "Why thank you. You got it?" She wanted to get back to her own exploration.

"I think I do."

Bonnie smiled, hoping she looked encouraging and not nearly as aroused she was. There was only so much of this she would be able to take and even then she feared she would spend the rest of the night with her hand in her pajama pants. She just hoped when she did, Kim would not hear.

While Kim marveled over the flat plane of her stomach, Bonnie's hands busied themselves mapping out Kim's shoulders. She had expected to feel more muscles from Kim, like touching a thin boy or something because of Kim's martial arts, but it was nothing like that at all. Kim was toned to be sure, but she was soft and smooth.

After a few seconds, Bonnie grew a bit bold and moved her hands to the front. She caressed Kim's sides and the famous midriff. How many nights had she had dreamed of dragging her tongue along Kim's stomach? Too many to count. She could imagine the entire straight male population of Middleton High had as well, but then again, they were too stupid to ask Kim out when they had the chance. Those idiots probably never even thought about this perfect tummy.

"You feel good," Bonnie decided to say, thinking Kim might need to know the truth of the matter. "You feel better than I ever imagined you'd feel."

Kim inhaled sharply and leaned down just enough for their noses to touch. They practically shared the same breath. "You've imagined touching me?" she asked in a low tone.

"So many times, Kim. So many fucking times. You've haunted my dreams since that first day I met you and I ignored why," Bonnie admitted. She could not have her sisters thinking she was dyke back then. But, now, she honestly did not care. Even if they judged her, at the end of the day, she got to feel Kim, to be affectionate with Kim, and have that affection returned. What did her sisters have beyond their attitudes and bitterness?

"Oh, Bonnie," Kim moaned and she removed the space from them.

This kiss was different from the others and Bonnie was not sure how to explain it. It just seemed like there was more of Kim in it than ever before. Bonnie hoped she was able to put more of herself in this embrace as well.

Bonnie's hands could not behave themselves with Kim's mouth on her. One wandered to Kim's back, caressed the area in long lines that got longer with each sweep. She felt the band of Kim's pajamas pants, but went right by it whenever it got in her way. Soon, her hand was on Kim's ass and Kim was moaning in her mouth. _Oh, shit_. Never had a sound tasted so delicious before, but then Kim pulled back.

"Too much?" Bonnie guessed. The way her heart was beating, she knew the answer easily. Not to mention, her body was humming and throbbing. If Kim had not pulled away, there probably would have been no turning back.

Kim gave her a shaky nod. "Yeah."

Bonnie wasted no time removing hand. "Sorry. I got carried away."

"No, it's fine. I just… Not yet," Kim replied.

"This is fine." Hell, it was more than fine. This was a dream come true, even if she never got to do more. She was touching Kim and Kim was touching her.

Kim nodded and came back in for another kiss. They spent at least an hour, kissing and caressing. Their touches only explored stomachs, backs, and sides. Every now and then, they accidentally stroked the underside of each other's breasts, but never beyond. Bonnie reveled in Kim's weight as well as her touch.

This was more than enough for Bonnie, especially since she was certain this was the last time it would ever happen. The real problem would be thinking about the "what ifs" later on, especially the "what if they went all the way" because this felt amazing. She could not fathom what it would like to have all of Kim and for Kim to have all of her.

-8-8-8-8-

In the morning, Bonnie had breakfast with the Possible family, in the funny way that they had breakfast whenever they were all busy. It was all motion in the kitchen with seemingly every appliance running. Mrs. Possible was on her phone, but also checking to make sure all the males had everything they needed. Kim seemed to be a master of yoga as she slipped by everyone, trying to get items she needed. Jim and Tim kept trying to sneak things, which their mother grabbed out of their hands. Mr. Possible drank coffee and probably did not even know who handed it to him as he read over a folder in his hand.

Bonnie smiled, leaning her elbow on the table and she put her chin in her head, just taking it all in. She would miss this scene. Sure, she might be allowed to come over during breakfast if she and Kim managed to make it a little longer as a couple, but not any time soon. And she was not sure how long she and Kim would last if they had nowhere to be physically affectionate. They might end up friends again or that might be too awk-weird, as Kim and Ron said, and they would have to go their separate ways. Either way, she would not see this for a long time.

Before she could dwell on it, Kim was by her side with two plates of waffles. Bonnie's mother actually made homemade waffles. Kim's family had a stack of frozen ones in the freezer. Bonnie preferred the frozen ones because they did not taste like a life wasted being dominated by an ungrateful slob, but her mother probably would not see it that way.

She and Kim made their way to the dining room, getting away from the whirlwind. Kim braved the kitchen once more for juice, butter, and syrup. Before they even started on their food, the other Possibles were blurs as they made their way to the door.

"Where's everyone heading?" Bonnie asked.

"Mom has a surgery. Dad's part of some new project and the twins have engineering camp," Kim answered.

Bonnie's face scrunched up. "Engineering camp? Is that real?" Kim could have been playing with her.

Kim held up her hand. "Scout's honor."

Bonnie decided to take Kim's word for it. If there was such a thing, she imagined only the Possible family could find it. Well, them and other scientist families, she supposed. Jim and Tim could not be at a camp on their own.

"It's not really engineering camp, but it seems weird to say it's a weekend workshop when everyone there is under twelve," Kim remarked.

Bonnie nodded. That made even less sense, but again, it was the Possible family. It obviously made sense to them. Bonnie cut up her waffles.

"So… I was thinking of sitting down with my parents tomorrow," Kim said.

Bonnie swallowed hard. "So soon?" She had hoped she would get another week, just have some time in between their awesome sleepover and Kim's parents hating her.

"I just want to get it out of the way," Kim answered. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Bonnie lied and she was certain it came out in a way that betrayed it. Her voice seemed too low and high-pitched.

"It's not fine. I don't want you to be scared or nervous about this. If it makes you uncomfortable—" Kim did not get to finish.

"No! I won't be the reason you keep feeling bad about lying to them," Bonnie insisted. Unfortunately, they would not be trusted to ever be in the house alone like this when Kim spilled the beans and surely Kim knew that. Of course, Kim was an optimist, so she probably thought this would work out fine. Bonnie wished the stone in her stomach believed that.

"Are you sure?" Kim asked, reaching over and taking Bonnie's hand.

"I'm sure. I need you to do this," Bonnie replied. She might not like it, but she liked Kim with integrity and honor.

Kim smiled at her and squeezed her hand a little. Bonnie felt like her insides melted. She would always stand by Kim when Kim wanted to do the right thing and she could see Kim appreciated that. That was enough for Bonnie.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: With Both Hands

Kim considered she might learn to hate Lance. She could feel he made Bonnie uncomfortable and it was clearly what he was trying to do. Bonnie put on a brave face, showing her annoyance with him, but it was more than that. Kim would like to just punch him in the face, so he would leave them alone. But, he was so thick, she doubted that would help. Besides, it would start a lot of stories at school neither she nor Bonnie needed at the moment. So, she put him out of her mind.

Instead of thinking about him, Kim focused on the fact that Bonnie was now enrolled to take the SAT. They would have to start a study regimen. She would make plans for that after their sleepover and after telling her parents about her relationship.

The sleepover was kind of juvenile, which was what Kim feared, but Bonnie seemed to have a really good time, which was the important thing. Kim accepted that a sleepover would probably always be like that. But, she wanted to do more than the usual sleepover things… or maybe it was the usual sleepover thing for couples.

Kim wanted to do those things. For a while, she just stared at Bonnie on the floor. Part of her wanted to invite Bonnie into the bed, but she suspected that would be going too far. While she craved more of Bonnie, she did not want to send the message that she was ready to have sex. She knew she was not. But… she wanted something more. Hopefully, Bonnie felt the same.

Eventually, Kim worked up the courage to join Bonnie on the floor and Bonnie seemed more than agreeable to "more." Touching Bonnie was heavenly and Kim was certain she could get lost in the feeling. Bonnie seemed the same and pushed the boundary, fingers dancing across the waistband of Kim's pajama pants and eventually into her pants.

Kim was tempted to let Bonnie continue. It felt so good and her skin craved more. Her body even throbbed in a way she had never felt before, but it was too fast. Too fast for her and too fast for their relationship. She did not want this to be like any of Bonnie's other relationships. She appreciated Bonnie, way beyond her body. But, her body was very nice, too.

In fact, Kim could understand why some guys kind of got stuck on Bonnie's body, especially around the boob area. Whenever her fingers drifted that high, she really wanted to investigate more, but she held back. Their relationship was more than this.

Their relationship was real and growing, which was why she needed to tell her parents. She was serious about Bonnie. She wanted Bonnie to understand just how serious she was and she knew it made Bonnie nervous, but she hoped Bonnie understood why she was doing this. It was not just about lying to her parents, but showing how important Bonnie was to her.

"I want this to work," Kim muttered to the dark ceiling. Bonnie was asleep on the floor and Kim was wide awake, excitement buzzing through her. She wanted so many things with Bonnie, but she needed to take small steps.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Kim and Bonnie sit down with the Doctors Possible.


	13. Inside a Black Hole

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

13: Inside a Black Hole

Bonnie was almost certain she was about to throw up and nothing had even happened yet. She and Kim were just in the Possible living room, on the couch. The doctors Possible were opposite of them, staring at them expectantly. Kim had not say anything yet, beyond telling her parents they wanted to talk to them. Well, Kim wanted to talk to them. Bonnie wanted to run, screaming into the hills.

Bonnie was not sure how she had enough self-control to not hyperventilate. _Breathe in and out_ , she reminded herself. She felt like if she did not consciously tell herself to breathe, she would forget and pass out. She needed to make it through this because if she ruined it in any way, then she would just have to sit through it again. The very idea made bile rise in her throat and she swallowed it down. She hoped it did not sound like a gulp, even though it felt like one.

"So, you wanted to talk to us, Kim," Mrs. Possible said, eyeing both Kim and Bonnie.

It took all of Bonnie's willpower not to squirm. It felt like those blue eyes stared through her, down into her, and knew all her secrets. Those blue eyes knew she was with Kim, knew they had touched, and knew she was not good enough for Kim. She resisted the urge to take Kim's hand and hold tight.

"Yeah, Mom. So, I… I mean, we…" Kim glanced at Bonnie and motioned between them. "We have something to tell you."

Bonnie bite her tongue to prevent saying, "You." If this was up to her, they would hide in their own little world until they were eighteen. Now, they would be lucky if their little world lasted for eighteen more seconds. She understood this was the right thing to do, but that did not mean she had to like it.

"Something to tell us?" Mr. Possible echoed, eyebrows curled up. He looked confused and a little worried. He glanced at Mrs. Possible, as if she had the answers. Mrs. Possible sat quieted and waited.

"Yeah, Bonnie and I… We… well, we're girlfriends," Kim said, glancing at Bonnie as if she was impressed she had said. Bonnie was a little impressed. They had never said the word to anyone else and Kim said it like they used the word all the time.

"Girlfriends?" Mr. Possible echoed again, glancing at his wife for answers once more. Bonnie had a feeling he would be doing that a lot through this conversation.

Mrs. Possible sat up a little straighter. "I assume we're talking about the romantic sense rather than the friend sense." Her voice was calm, maybe even a little rigid, like her posture.

"Yes," Kim answered with a nod.

"And how long has this been going on?" Mrs. Possible demanded, frowning a bit and staring at them even harder. Bonnie swallowed hard and found it was more and more difficult to not squirm.

"Three months," Kim replied, like she had no idea how pissed her mother was.

"You've been dating for three months and only felt it was important to tell us now?" Mrs. Possible demanded, head bent now and eyes practically locked onto them. She looked like a mad bull.

Bonnie's heart felt like it was going to pound right out of her chest. They blamed her, she was sure. Blamed her for making their precious Kim lie to them for so long, blamed her for making Kim gay, blamed her for everything. They hated her now. The only thing keeping her from putting her head down in shame was the fact that Kim reached for her hand.

"We wanted to make sure this wasn't just some flash-in-the-pan sort of thing. We needed to make sure it was real and I think after three months, it's proven to be very real, so I thought it best to tell you," Kim explained.

"Wait, wait, wait, so what you're saying is that you're dating?" Mr. Possible inquired, still all bent eyebrows and a scrunched up mouth. He looked at them and then looked at Mrs. Possible and then looked at them again.

"Yes, Bonnie and I are dating," Kim confirmed.

"And you've just been up there doing what?" he demanded, pointing to the ceiling.

"Studying," Kim answered, having the nerve to have a furrowed brow, like she was confused on why her parents would think something had been going on.

Bonnie was not surprised by Kim's reaction. Kim probably just expected her parents to trust her, which was a good thing, but they were parents to a teenager. Surely, they always assumed the worse since most teens did the worse. Of course, most teens were not Kim, so maybe they should not expect the worse.

"So, you've been locked away in your bedroom with this… person…" he sort of hissed the word and Bonnie's stomach cramped. He continued on. "… studying? Really?" His gaze seemed as close to a glare as he could get and it made Bonnie's throat burn.

"Yes, really," Kim said. Okay, so maybe she could lie or at least tell a selective truth. Of course, it did not seem to do them any good.

"Kim, you've had Bonnie over for sleepovers," Mrs. Possible chimed in, shaking her head.

"Where we just slept," Kim replied.

Bonnie wanted to curl up into a little ball and escape this conversation. She had not felt this uncomfortable and out of place since back when she was a kid and her parents had their first argument in front of her. It was like something was happening in front of her that she knew she should not see, but this was something she was supposed to see. She was supposed to be here. This was her relationship. She squeezed Kim's hand.

"Kim, what's going on?" Mr. Possible said strongly. He made a fist and rested it on his knee. For some reason, this made Bonnie's stomach turn and it was taking a lot to keep from blowing chunks on the floor.

"It's basically just what I said. We're a couple. I wanted you both to know. I'm not trying to hide anything," Kim insisted. Bonnie almost rolled her eyes, but the trouble in her stomach kept her from doing so.

"Yet you waited three months to tell us," Mrs. Possible pointed out, folding her arms across her chest.

"I told you, we wanted to make sure it was real. It's not some experiment or confused feelings or anything. I care about Bonnie and she cares about me," Kim tried to explain.

"So, this is real?" Mrs. Possible pointed between the two of them.

"Yes. We're a couple," Kim stated with a nod.

"A couple?" Mr. Possible echoed. He was having trouble keeping up, probably due to shock. His face was still all confused and everything.

"Yes, Dad," Kim sighed.

"Okay, so now that you're being open about this. You know there have to be new rules, right?" Mrs. Possible said.

"Mom," Kim seemed to object, as if she had not expected that, confirming something Bonnie already knew. Kim was an eternal optimist, to a fault.

"What? We need new ground rules. Clearly, we can't have the two of you alone in your room anymore. From now on, you'll work down here in the living room," Mrs. Possible stated, which Bonnie saw coming.

"Mom, we'll never get anything done here! The tweebs will be all over us and I need to help Bonnie study for her SATs!" Kim objected with wide eyes. She almost looked scared as much as she was outraged.

"You can do that right here. We'll send your brothers to their room or the basement while you're working. But, no more alone in rooms or closed doors or anything like that," Mrs. Possible stated, wagging her finger at them.

"Mom!"

"And, Bonnie, I'm sorry, but after seven, you have to go home now," Mrs. Possible said in a businesslike tone. She looked at Bonnie as if she did not know who she was.

Bonnie had not expected that, but nodded anyway while feeling like she was going to burst into tears now. They hated her. They hated her so much they would not even let her stay for dinner anymore. Sorrow and shame caught in her throat, causing her to hiccup. They hated her. _They know you_. _Of course, they hate you_. _What is there to like about you, after all?_

It made sense to Bonnie that the doctors Possible would hate her. Her sisters hated her, her father hated her. Anyone who knew her disliked her. They knew what she was.

"Mom!" Kim tried to argue once more.

Before Kim could continue, Bonnie shot to her feet. She could not be here anymore. "I'm sorry!" she blurted out, not even sure what she was sorry for. Sorry for corrupting Kim, sorry for making her lie, sorry for doing so much behind their back, sorry for making Kim gay, sorry for just everything.

Bonnie rushed off before anyone could ask for an explanation, going right out of the door. She could hear Kim calling behind her, but she did not want to see Kim right now. She did not want to see anyone. Unfortunately, she did not know where to go. Looking up and down the street was too much time lost. Kim was at her back before she even got started.

"Bonnie, what happened?" Kim asked, holding her around the wrist. Bonnie struggled for freedom, but Kim hugged her close.

"Please, Kim!" Bonnie sniffled, not sure what she was begging for. Tears gathered in her eyes and she knew they would flood out at any moment.

"Just talk to me, please," Kim implored her. Kim pressed herself to Bonnie's back, in the middle of the street, where anyone could see.

"What do you want me to say?" Bonnie choked up a little. "Your parents hate me!"

"They don't hate you. Come back in, please," Kim whispered.

"No, I don't want them to look at me and hate me. I just want to get away," Bonnie said, honestly. She wanted to go somewhere, anywhere as long as it was not the Possible residence.

"Then, can you just come back inside and talk to me?" Kim requested.

"I would have to go in and look at them. They're in the living room. We have to stay in the living room. I can't…" Bonnie was not sure what she could not do. It felt like she could not do anything. She just wanted to tuck into a ball and never move again.

"Bonnie, please."

Kim put her other arm around her waist and Bonnie was so out of it that she allowed Kim to lead her back into the house. She shook her head the entire way, but went. Kim took her past the living room and into the kitchen. She sat Bonnie down at the little nook and Bonnie sobbed.

She would never be invited to sit at this nook again! But, she should have known that. Things were going too good. Things had never been this good for her and she had allowed it to blind her. Now, the world spun and she did not know how to handle it.

"Here." Kim placed a cup of tea in front of her.

"Thank you," Bonnie muttered, putting a hand on the handle. Kim had changed her so much that she said "thank you" automatically for things now. This was something she had not done since she was about three years old.

"Take your time," Kim whispered, stroking the back of Bonnie's hand with two fingers.

Bonnie nodded and wiped her face with the hand Kim touched. She sniffled more as she put the hand down on the table and Kim was right back to caressing it. Everything still felt like it was spinning, but she felt grounded with Kim touching her. She tried to lift her tea cup, but her hand shook too much and she just spilled the tea. She gasped, as if this was the worst thing to ever happen.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie whispered, horrified by the mess.

"It's all right," Kim insisted gently.

"I'll clean it up." Bonnie moved to get up, but Kim held her hand.

"Just stay here. Take your time and compose yourself," Kim said gently.

Bonnie nodded and stared down at the tea puddle. She did not know why she was so shaken up. The Possibles had not even yelled. Maybe she could have stood yelling. She heard yelling every day for the smallest things. Here, Kim dropped a life-changing event and they took it calmly. Sure, they were clearly upset, but it was so controlled. It was surreal, but they were surreal.

The fact that the Possibles were so controlled made it worse. They knew what they were saying, what they were doing. It was not a fit or a tantrum like her or her father. It was not about lashing out. It was what they wanted. It was in their hearts.

"Bonnie," Kim said again, as if trying to calm her down.

"I don't know what came over me," Bonnie finally whispered. Her voice could not go any louder than this broken murmur.

"Do you feel okay?" Kim asked. Her thumb lightly stroked Bonnie's hand.

"Not really." A headache knocked at the front of her head and she knew soon it would be like having a hammer bashing against her skull.

"Try to have some tea. It might help," Kim urged her.

Nodding, Bonnie managed to lift the cup this time without spilling anything. She took a sip and the warm liquid spread through her, but did nothing to untie the knot that was in her stomach. She stopped drinking when she thought it might be best to leave her stomach empty. No sense taking something in that would probably rush its way back out when her stomach decided to shift.

"They hate me," Bonnie whispered, staring into her cup. She wished answers swirled in the dark liquid, someway to fix this would have been nice.

"They don't hate you. Why would you think that?" Kim asked.

"Because I'm the reason you lied to them," Bonnie whimpered. Amongst other things. She doubted they were happy with her turning Kim gay either.

Kim shook her head and held Bonnie's hand tighter. "Bonnie, I made that decision. I wanted to make sure we were strong before I told them."

"Would you've done that if I was a boy?" Bonnie pointed out. Kim probably would have told her parents about them after the second date if she were a boy.

"Well, no, but it's kind of a moot point. A lot of this wouldn't have happened if you were a boy and you're not a boy, so it doesn't matter. But, I will say, if you were a boy, I probably would've waited to tell them, maybe not as long, but this is so new that I needed us to be sure."

Sighing, Bonnie shook her head. "I know. I know." She understood Kim telling her parents showed how invested Kim was in _them_ , but it still felt like so much. It was like the bad outweighed the good, sort of like everything in life. "Do you think they'll tell anybody about us?"

Kim scratched her cheek with her free hand. "Well, as soon as I get a chance, I'll ask them not to."

Bonnie nodded. "Thanks." Her chest felt less constricted now and she could breathe a little better. She gave Kim's hand a squeeze to let her know she was doing a feeling slightly better.

Kim studied Bonnie. "Would it really bother you if people knew?"

Bonnie had to take a deep breath. "I like… I like not being bothered about us, Kim. I like our little bubble. No one's going to ask me a trillion questions about us. No one's going to say bad things about you. No one's going to get in my face about having the nerve to date you or anything. It's nice and peaceful in our little bubble," she sighed, looking around.

Bonnie did not want to have defend herself to everyone. She did not do well when defending herself. Besides, she had already lost some peace. It would be a bit much to have the whole world pulled out from under her.

"Our bubble is nice…" Kim let loose a small, almost shy smile and then that smile fell. It was like she realized she popped the bubble, even if she had only outed them to her parents. "I'll talk to my mom and dad."

"It doesn't matter, Kimmie. It'll never go back to the way it was," Bonnie replied. Kim needed to accept and understand the bubble was popped, the paper was crumbled, and they would never get the demons back into Pandora's box.

Bonnie would never be allowed _in_ like she was before. There would be no more quiet homework time, kisses in between, or cuddling after dark. This was the beginning of the end and she knew the ending. She would just ride it out until she got there. It would be a good journey, being by Kim's side.

"Well, no, but time's supposed to more forward and people are meant to change. You can't stand still your whole life," Kim said.

"No, I guess not." It sounded true enough anyway.

"We'll be all right. Over time, everything will smooth out and it'll be fine," Kim promised.

Bonnie laughed. _The eternal optimist_. She understood why Kim could rush into life threatening situations without a thought. It never occurred to Kim that things would not work out the way she wanted them to. How does someone even get confidence like that? Bonnie wished she knew.

All she could do was fake it and even now, it was hard to do. It took so much work and caused her stomach to ache. She had been faking it for years and only now got a taste of what real confidence was. She knew she would never have as much as Kim.

"You don't believe in hubris, do you?" Bonnie asked.

"Not so much that, but I think if something's in my power to change or handle, then I'm good." Kim shrugged. "Hopefully, Hera never gets the desire to smite me in some way," she added with a smile.

Bonnie chuckled. She did not socialize with anyone else who would have gotten that and then had a comeback for it. Hell, if someone she knew did get it, they would look at her and wonder how the hell she knew what hubris was. Kim just took it and ran with it. She did not want to lose this.

"Bonnie, it'll be all right. Do you want to go back out there and talk to my parents again?" Kim asked.

Bonnie would rather be swallowed by quicksand, but she could not leave Kim to this all by herself, even if it was Kim's not-so-brilliant idea. So, instead, she gathered her courage, which apparently was at the bottom of her tea cup and took Kim's free hand. She squeezed both. Kim gave her a small smile, which somehow fortified her enough to stand up. Maybe confidence was contagious or could be transferred. Whichever, Bonnie smiled back.

"It'll be fine," Kim promised.

Bonnie's voice decided to hide for a while, so all she could do was nod, even if she did not believe it. They went back to the living room, where the doctors Possible still waited. Bonnie was a little surprised they were still there. She and Kim sat where they had before and Kim held her hand again, like this was no big deal.

"Sorry about that. Bonnie's a little overwhelmed. We haven't told anyone else," Kim explained.

Mrs. Possible frowned, but her husband spoke up. "Why haven't you? Nothing's going on at that school, is it?" he said in a way that let Bonnie know if Kim said there was, he would be up at the school tomorrow demanding to know what was going on.

Kim shook her head. "No, no, no, nothing like that. There's a Gay-Straight Alliance at school and everything."

There was? That was news to Bonnie. Of course, she probably would not have cared if she did know, then and now. The only thing that mattered now was holding onto Kim and surviving this thing with the Possibles.

"Are you girls gay?" Mrs. Possible asked, which struck Bonnie as a strange question. Sure, she and Kim had not labeled themselves as "lesbians," but most people would just assume they were. They were two girls in a relationship, after all.

"We're not really labeling ourselves as anything right now," Kim said what Bonnie was thinking, but she said it like it was no big deal. Bonnie could barely keep the thought in her head without panicking, but not Kim. "We're just being us and trying to figure out what 'us' is. So far, we like being together."

"Couldn't you just stay friends then?" her mother asked, maybe even pleaded. Her eyes looked sort of stricken, which made Bonnie's stomach clench.

"Well, we like kissing, too," Kim replied with a blushing staining her cheeks.

"Kissing?" Mr. Possible looked like he might throw up and Bonnie doubted it had anything to do with Kim kissing a girl.

 _Maybe it has to do with Kim kissing me_. The way the Possibles stared at her, Bonnie felt like it had to be her. Kim was wrong. They hated her. _They're remembering all of the crap I used to do Kim and they know all of the crap I did with… like every guy in Middleton High_. Bonnie's stomach flipped.

"Yes, Dad, we kiss. We haven't done anything more than that," Kim assured them. Again, not exactly a lie, but not quite the truth either. Second base was a nice base to hang out.

"Kimmie," Mrs. Possible seemed to be scolding Kim, like Kim was taunting her father, which she might have well been.

"What? Dad, I'm not six anymore," Kim argued.

"That's neither here nor there," Mrs. Possible said.

Kim sighed, shoulders slumping. "Fine. Look, we'd like you guys not to tell anyone." She glanced at Bonnie and smiled. "We like the little bubble we've got. When it finally gets out, we're both going to be bombarded with questions and people trying to break us up and we just don't want to deal with that yet."

Mrs. Possible nodded. "That's understandable. Bonnie, have you told your parents?"

Bonnie sort of gagged. Told her parents? She did her best to avoid making eye contact with her parents. Why would she tell them anything? She opened her mouth to answer, but only a weird noise came out. Quickly, she shut her mouth and put her free hand over it, feeling a blush burn her cheeks. _Shit. Now, not only will they hate me, but they'll think I'm stupid_.

"She hasn't told her parents yet and that's her decision," Kim said.

Mrs. Possible's gaze narrowed for a moment, but she thankfully did not drag this out. Bonnie was thankful her parents did not know the Possibles and she doubted they would ever cross paths unless Bonnie's father ended up in the hospital. And it had to be her father because he would never accompany anyone of them to the hospital, no matter what the trouble was.

Of course, from the way Mrs. Possible eyed her, Bonnie feared for a moment she might be on her way to the hospital. Okay, so they definitely hated her. Now, she just needed to focus on breathing and not probably being one of the youngest people in history to have fatal heart attack in her girlfriend's living room.

"So, can we negotiate the terms?" Kim asked with a smile. The nerve on this girl! For some reason, it just made Bonnie love her more.

"There will be no negotiation," Mr. Possible stated soundly.

"Mom, Dad, be reasonable," Kim pled.

"I think we've been very reasonable. After all, we didn't ground you for this little deception," Mrs. Possible remarked, motioning to the two teens.

"It wasn't…" Kim just sighed and rubbed her face with her free hand.

Bonnie squeezed her hand and Kim looked at her. Maybe now was not the time to argue. They should consider themselves lucky. After all, the Possibles could have banned Bonnie. Hell, she suspected they would have loved to do that.

"All right. Bonnie and I have a date," Kim said, probably in lieu of whatever argument she wanted to make.

"Back by ten," Mrs. Possible said.

Kim nodded and helped Bonnie to her feet. They walked outside hand in hand. Kim let go to put her arm around Bonnie's shoulders.

"They don't hate you, you know?" Kim tried to assure her.

Bonnie was not sure about that. Her own family knew how to put on a good show when people were about. She doubted many people knew the chaos of the Rockwaller home. So, the Possibles were probably just putting on a good show. No, this was the beginning of the end.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Not Even Light

Staring at the ceiling, Kim tried not to let disappointment cover her like the darkness of her bedroom, but it was so damned hard. Her parents cracked down in a way she had not foresaw. She truly thought they would be supportive. Yeah, she understood she was dating girl who was once her sworn enemy in ways in Dr. Drakken could not match, but they had seen the new Bonnie… and shunned her anyway.

It did not help that she had overheard her parents talking about her and Bonnie. They did not say anything negative, but just sort of questioned her sanity in being with Bonnie. Her father thought "something had come over her" and wondered if this was "some kind of phase?" Her mother had been a little less philosophical about the matter.

Kim scratched her head, pushing her hair out of her face. "At least Bonnie didn't hear any of that." Again, it was not anything too harsh, but Bonnie was already convinced her parents hated her. "In fact, I should text her and make sure she's all right."

Turning over, she reached for her Kimmunicator. It was possible that Bonnie would be asleep, as it was kind of late, but there was always a chance Bonnie would be awake. If Bonnie felt even a fraction of what she did after this whole coming out thing, then she would definitely be awake.

"Thanks for checking on me, babe."

Kim smiled at the term of endearment. Bonnie put on a brave face… well, a brave text. Before Kim could respond, Bonnie ended up calling her.

"You know you made me smile when you called me 'babe'?" Kim asked.

Bonnie laughed a little. "Well, you're my babe."

"Good to know, especially after today."

Bonnie groaned. "I just want to forget today happened."

Kim could understand that. Part of her wished she could forget about it, too. Of course, it was necessary. Their relationship was real, these feelings were real, and they were growing. She had to tell her parents. _Uh, maybe you should tell Bonnie that, just to make sure she knows_. That seemed like a good idea.

"I had to tell them, Bonnie," Kim said.

"I know."

"No, I don't think you do know. I had to tell them, not just because, yeah, they should know, but I had to tell them because we matter to me. We're a real thing. And, when you're in a real relationship, you eventually tell your parents."

The silence on the other end of the line might have scared Kim any other time, but she had a good feeling now. Bonnie usually needed to hear she mattered and she did. She needed to understand why this was important beyond lying by omission.

"I'm glad you're so secure with us you wanted to tell them," Bonnie said in a low voice.

Kim smiled. "Yeah, and I'll work on them. I mean, maybe they just reacted that way because of the shock. I mean, my dad still thinks I'm six, after all. He can't possibly think it's okay for me to date."

"Especially the person who was a bitch to you for the past four years, right?"

A small sigh escaped Kim. "Bonnie, they got to know the real you over the past few months. Once the shock wears off, things'll calm down."

"Baby, I really, really wish I had your faith."

Kim gnawed her bottom lip a little. She wished Bonnie could have her faith. Her parents were reasonable people. This had to be shock. Nothing else explained it.

"Kim, you should get some sleep," Bonnie said.

Kim sighed again. Bonnie was trying to get off the phone with her. Well, she should give Bonnie her space, give her a chance to get her head together. Besides, Kim needed time to understand what the hell just happened.

"Okay. Goodnight," Kim said.

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

Well, things seemed fine with Bonnie enough for Bonnie to use terms of endearment. Still, Kim wondered if everything was all right between them. It felt like they should have talked longer since she admitted the importance of the relationship. Scratching her head, Kim stared at the ceiling again.

"Mom and Dad will come around and Bonnie will realize they don't hate her. This'll work out," Kim promised herself. Yet, sleep did not come easy that night.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Kim and Bonnie's relationship under the new rules.


	14. The Death of Stars

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

14: The Death of Stars

The first day of studying in the living room was as expected — impossible. It barely took the tweebs a minute to get started after Bonnie and Kim unpacked their work. They sent out a "probe," which also had a speaker on it, and they pretended to be studying "girls in their natural habitat." The commentary was annoying and Bonnie was very tempted to smash the damned probe with her book bag. After the stupid thing rolled over one of her workbooks and tore the page Bonnie had had enough.

"Listen to me very careful," Bonnie said, staring into the lens of the probe. "If this thing isn't away from me in the next five seconds, you'll have to figure out how to get it from the bottom of a lake," she promised.

"Hmm… we should've put an amphibious mode on it…" a voice came from the speaker.

"I doubt that'll help when I set it on fire anyway," Bonnie stated. The probe turned around. Bonnie groaned.

"I'm sorry about that," Kim apologized.

Bonnie waved her off. "It's not your fault." She wanted to tell Kim she understood. If they were in the living room of her house, her sisters and her mother would be bothering them. But, this used to be a haven and now it was just annoying, like her house.

"Still, I'm sorry," Kim insisted. "Come on, let's get started."

Bonnie nodded. They had about ten minutes peace before the probe was back. They could hear the boys chortling over the speaker, which was suspicious if Kim's tense expression meant anything. Before either of them could figure out what the boys were up to, a horrible air-horn like noise came from the robot and it practically vomited confetti everywhere.

"What the hell?" Bonnie growled. This was possibly the first time in history she wanted to kill someone else's siblings.

Kim let loose a loud, animalistic groan. "I'm going to kill you two!" she howled, grabbing for the robot.

Jim and Tim must have anticipated Kim going after the robot because the thing had rocket jets on it to get away. Kim was not deterred, though, as she was Kim Possible after all. She picked up the closest textbook and launched it at the fleeing probe, showing she needed to play softball. She nailed it. The probe crashed into a wall and then went down.

"Aw, man!" the twins cried, their voices coming from the stairs. "We're gonna tell Dad you wrecked our probe!"

"Please do!" Kim hollered right back, glaring in the direction of their voices.

Frowning, Kim returned to her spot on the living room floor, only to realize she had thrown her textbook clear across the room. Growling, she went to retrieve it, only to find her brothers had gotten to it first. Jim held their probe and Tim held the textbook.

"Give it back," Kim ordered in what should have been a scary tone for anyone to hear.

Instead of heeding that command, the twins took off. Bonnie sighed and watched this circus go on for a few minutes before turning her attention back to her work. It was hard to concentrate with all of the noise, but eventually everything settled down. Kim returned, looking more pissed off than ever, holding her textbook.

"Goddamn pests," Kim grumbled, flopping down in her seat on the couch.

It was the first time Bonnie had ever heard her use "goddamn" in her life and it was hard not to react. But, Bonnie was able to let that go, wanting to comfort Kim some. This was clearly just as annoying for her as it was for Bonnie.

"You okay?" Bonnie asked. She wanted to reach out and touch Kim, but she did not want someone else in the house to see. The doctors Possible probably would not appreciate it and she did not want the twins to figure out the nature of her relationship with Kim or they might tell someone.

"They ruin everything!" Kim huffed, slapping her palm against the sofa.

Bonnie flinched. She had heard that plenty of times in her life from older sisters. "Maybe… if you don't say things like that to them, they'll be better."

Kim scoffed. "I say things like that because it's true. I wasn't bothering them and here they come! Why are you defending them, anyway?" Her face scrunched up as she frowned.

Bonnie opened her mouth and then closed it. Kim had a point. She had not started with them. The boys were the was initiating things, which was the total opposite of what happened with her and her sisters. The Possible twins were to blame here.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie apologized. She felt off balance and she did not know what to do. This whole situation was… weird. Beyond weird.

"No, no. no. I'm sorry. I'm sorry we have to deal with this stuff," Kim replied.

"It's all right." It really was not, but it was what they both expected. No one thought this "working in the living room" was going to go well, except Kim's parents.

"My dad sent the tweebs to their room, so we should be free to work," Kim informed her.

Bonnie doubted that was true and the frown on Kim's face did not make her any more confident. Still, they settled in for homework and had a good fifteen minutes to themselves before a new, hovering probe showed up. Growling, Kim got up and retrieved a broom, smacking the thing out of the air. She whomped it a few times, just to make sure it would not get back up.

"I am so sorry," Kim said.

Sighing, Bonnie shook her head. "Maybe I should just go to the library." She did not want to spend her entire afternoon watching Kim take down probes.

"No!" Kim raced over to her and grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry. I really am. Don't leave. I'll go talk to the tweebs." Olive eyes stared down at Bonnie, imploring her to stay.

How could she deny Kim, especially with those eyes? So, Bonnie nodded and Kim rushed off, hoping to gain some sort of control over her little brothers. This gave her a moment to think over her insanity of a few minutes ago. Clearly, Kim was not the terror of an older sister like Connie and Lonnie were. If she was, she would have her brothers in check. She would have never trespassed on any gathering her sisters had like this out of fear of retribution. Jim and Tim did not seem to have this fear. They seemed to think Kim was all bark and no bite, despite what she did to their robots.

Kim returned, hair out of place, looking frazzled. Without thinking, Bonnie reached out, caressing Kim's arm, but it did not seem to help. Flopping down into her space once more, Kim sighed and tried to push her hair back. Upstairs was silent.

"Did you kill them?" Bonnie asked, forcing out an awkward laugh.

"If I could get away with it right now, I would," Kim grumbled, rubbing her forehead rather hard with one hand.

"It's okay," Bonnie said, if only to relax Kim. It did not help.

They tried to get back to their work, but it just was not the same. It was awkward and quiet. Kim fidgeted and bit her thumbnail. Bonnie had trouble focusing, which left her Spanish homework a mess. She would have to go the library later to really get anything done. Well, she had to leave by seven anyway, so she could go then.

"I'm sorry," Kim apologized for what felt like the umpteenth time as they packed up their things. It felt like they got nothing done and the air around them was tense and heavy.

"It's all right. We got done what we could," Bonnie replied as she shouldered her book bag. It was not much.

"Lemme walk you to the door," Kim offered, motioning to the door.

"No need." It was not like they could kiss at the door. Someone might see.

Kim grinned, but it did not reach her eyes. "I insist."

Bonnie decided against arguing. She allowed Kim to walk her to the door. When they got their, Kim took Bonnie's hand and stroked her fingers. It should have made her feel better, but it did not. They should be able to kiss here, but now, they were out in the open. Nothing could happen.

Before Bonnie could at least be happy with the touch, the door opened. Bonnie jumped out of the way as Mrs. Possible came in. Mrs. Possible smiled as she noticed Bonnie and then looked to the side, seeing Kim. Bonnie was not sure why Mrs. Possible smiled when she noticed her, but she was not going to stick around to find out. After all, it probably was not because of something good.

"Hi, girls," Mrs. Possible greeted them.

"Hi, Mom," Kim said.

"I was just leaving!" Bonnie sort of squeaked and mumbled at the same time and then she practically ran out of the door. She did not want to stay a minute past seven or she feared it would upset the doctors Possible even more. She did not want them to have more reasons to hate her or limit her time with Kim.

Bonnie went to the library, where she had about twenty minutes to herself before people she knew found her, convinced her to do her homework later, and pulled her away. She ended up going bowling with them before that turned into wandering the streets alone. She got home around midnight. Homework went unfinished.

-8-8-8-8-

This living room thing was clearly not going to work. Bonnie was trying to do her math homework, which should have been a breeze, but she had a little annoyance staring over her shoulder. As she jotted down her work, a little finger came out of nowhere, landing right on her equation.

"You're doing it wrong," Jim said. She could tell them apart now, but only because Jim seemed to pay her much more attention than his double. It was creepy on good days and worrisome all the time.

"I know what I'm doing," she growled, giving him a glare with the hope it would back him up. It did not work. He had the nerve to smile at her.

"Jim, leave her alone," Kim barked, scanning the area, undoubtedly looking for the other one.

"Okay, but she's doing it wrong," Jim replied.

"Let her do it on her own. It's not your homework. Now, where the hell is the other tweeb?" Kim demanded.

Jim snickered and it took a second too long to realize he was also a distraction. Out of nowhere, water balloons rained down on them. Bonnie let loose an ungodly scream and for now the umpteenth time felt like she might be able to murder someone else's sibling. The tweebs snickered as they ran off.

"You little fucking demons!" Kim actually shouted aloud, taking off after the boys. She might live the dream and actually slaughter her brothers.

"Kimmie!" Of course Mr. Possible heard the swearing, but he missed the more important injustices.

"Dad, I'm going to kill them!" Kim announced from somewhere in the house.

"Boys, you're supposed to be in your room!" Mr. Possible said, as if that meant anything. They could and would continue their acts of terror from their room. This was a proven fact.

Rubbing her forehead, Bonnie sighed as she turned her attention to her homework. All of her papers were ruined. Her notebook was soggy. Thankfully, she had a math textbook that belonged to the school rather than a workbook that belonged to her and would not be replaced due to water damage. But, everything she had out had definitely seen better days. Worst of all it, her SAT prep book had gotten hit as well.

By the time, Kim came back, she was packed up. Kim sniffled and roughly wiped her mouth for some reason. When she caught sight of Bonnie, she rushed over.

"Bonnie, I'm so—"

"Sorry, I know," Bonnie huffed. She was sick of hearing how sorry Kim was. Some days, it felt like that was all Kim said.

"Bonnie," Kim sort of yelped.

Bonnie sighed. "I'm sorry, Kim. I don't mean to snap at you. I'm just frustrated."

"I know. I'm frustrated, too. I can't do anything about the little mutants. They get sent to their room, Dad takes their stuff, but they still manage to ruin everything," Kim huffed, throwing her hands up.

"I know, I know." It was not Kim's fault, but she needed to get her work done. She was trying to go to college. She could not just let things fall apart… or maybe considering what happened when she went to library, maybe she was not really trying to go to college. Maybe she was just fooling herself like before. Things were falling apart anyway, so why fight it?

Scratching her head, Bonnie shouldered her book bag. She was not sure what she was going to do, but she needed to get away from here. She could not take the tweebs. She could not take having Kim right in front of her and they could not do anything.

"I'm just going to go to the library," Bonnie announced. Maybe she would get some work done. Maybe she could still make something of herself. Or maybe there was nothing to be done, but she needed to get out of here because the house was definitely not helping.

"Let me come with you!" Kim offered, maybe even begged.

"Kim, it's going to be distracting. People are going to talk," Bonnie replied. Her friends frequently wandered in there looking for her and she knew they would question why she was in the library with Kim. It was one thing for people to see them hang out in school, but it was another thing to see them in the library, sitting close and alone.

"So? We'll talk to people. They'll go about their business and then we'll be fine," Kim figured.

"Does that really sound right in your head?" Bonnie asked. They would be bombarded and bothered for the entire time.

Kim shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to try. We'll go to the library and then when I come home, I'll talk to my parents about this whole living room thing. This isn't working and they can't deny that."

"They're not going to change, Kim." Bonnie knew that for a fact. At least one of the doctors Possible had been home every day to watch this constant tragedy unfold and nothing had been done. Part of her wondered if this was done on purpose to chase her off. She could see why Kim did not keep boyfriends or why she did not have people over often if this was how the tweebs acted.

"We'll see."

Bonnie shook her head, wondering what world Kim lived in. It did not matter. Kim packed up her things and they headed to the library.

They barely sat down in the library before they were approached. It was not even Bonnie's friends. They were just people who went to Middleton High.

"Kim, you do tutoring?" a boy asked, not even bothering with a greeting.

"No, I'm not tutoring," Kim answered.

"But—" He pointed to Bonnie.

"Don't you know Kim and I are friends now?" Bonnie growled.

He yelped and wisely ran off with his friends. Kim looked at her with that "I'm sorry" face and Bonnie really did not want to hear it. She turned her attention to her soaked books. Kim let out a little whimper, like a puppy. Bonnie managed to ignore it and Kim took out her own books. Again, they sat amongst an awkward, oppressing silence, but it was not for long.

"Hey, Bonnie, we thought we'd find you here," one of her friends said as she approached the table. It was her friend Amber, who was good for dragging her off to have a good time.

Bonnie had never wanted to throw a book at someone so badly in all of her life. _I just want to do my fucking homework! Is that so much to ask?_ All signs pointed to "yes" at the moment.

"You're still hanging out with Kim Possible?" Amber openly scoffed.

"Obviously," Bonnie answered through gritted teeth.

"God, I thought that was some weird phase you were going through," Amber said rather dismissively, waving Kim off.

"Hey!" Kim objected.

Amber did not miss a beat. "You gonna be here long? Me and Pam are going to hang out with the boys. It'll be fun."

Bonnie shook her head. "I'm swamped." She motioned to all of the papers and books about the table, not that Amber could have possibly missed it.

"You can do it later," Amber pointed out.

"No, I need to get this done. I've got other stuff to study, too," Bonnie replied. There was SAT prep to do after homework. She had Kim and barely gotten to do much of it thanks to the tweebs. She just hoped she could peel the papers apart of her SAT book and then she had to hope the library would accept it back without her having to pay for it.

"What are you even studying for? You're not failing anything, so you're not going to be kicked off the cheer squad, so let's get going," Amber stated, folding her arms across her chest.

"I've got stuff to do," Bonnie snarled.

Amber stepped back and looked like she smelled something sour. She regarded Kim and sort of snarled at her. Kim glared right back.

"You think you're better than us all of a sudden, Bonnie?" Amber said.

"I think I'm trying to do this work," Bonnie answered, pointing down to her book.

"You got her answer, so why don't you move along?" Kim said to Amber.

Amber sneered, but did just they that. Still, they got company every few minutes and it was just annoying. Between people wanting to know what they were doing there, of Kim was tutoring, or whatever other stupid thing, no one seemed to be able to mind their own business. Bonnie's mood did not improve when she pulled out her SAT book and discovered some of the pages were completely stuck together. She felt like she might burst into tears. Today sucked. Yesterday sucked, too, but today sucked more. _Oh, I know this song. Each day sucks a little more than the one before it. Welcome back old life_.

"I'm sorry about that," Kim said.

"Please!" Bonnie hissed, making a tight fist. "Just stop apologizing." She wanted to blame Kim for all of this. Her and her damned integrity. If she did not feel the need to tell her damned parents, they could be in Kim's room right now, done with this stupid work, sharing kisses or watching a movie or just cuddling and talking! But, no, she needed to be so damned honest and now they were stuck!

"I just…" Kim sighed. "I've got an SAT book you can use."

Bonnie shook her head. "I'll just get another one since we're here. I'll return this one after it dries and just tell them it was like that." She doubted it would work, but it was the best she could do now.

"Okay." Kim looked down at the floor, resembling a scolded puppy.

"I think I'm going to call it a night and you've got to be home soon anyway," Bonnie pointed out. If she spent any more time around Kim, she would only get more upset, especially if Kim was going to pout.

Kim looked up and olive eyes shined with hope. "Can I walk you home?"

Yeah, that was all this day needed, Kim could come to her house and hear her father screaming about nothing. Hell, considering the way the day was going, Connie and Lonnie would see them together and she would never hear the end of it. So, she shook her head, declining the offer.

"I'll be fine," Bonnie said, trying her best not to sound clipped.

"You sure?" Kim asked with a whimper.

"Yeah. I don't want you to get in trouble for missing curfew," Bonnie replied, which was true. There was no need to drive a further wedge between Kim and her parents.

"I'll talk to my parents," Kim promised.

Bonnie nodded. It was a nice gesture, but she doubted anything would come of it. Poor Kim. That confidence was unwavering, even when reality bashed against it.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie walked to Kim's house, not sure why she was even bothering. She just hoped since it was Saturday, things would be calmer. The tweebs had their engineering camp-workshop-whatever. But, then again, if Kim's parents were not going to be there, she was not allowed inside. An unfortunate consequence she found out last weekend. _I hate this so much_.

Before she could bring herself to knock, she heard arguing from inside. She could make out Kim's voice, not just because she knew it best, but because Kim was screaming. She was screaming in a way Bonnie had never heard before, in a way Bonnie did not think possible for Kim.

"Why can't we just study in my room? You both know how the tweebs are! They wrecked her SAT prep book and try to correct her homework, like they're degrading her. We can't get anything done out here!" Kim hollered.

"The rules are the rules," Mr. Possible stated firmly.

"The rules blow!" Kim shouted, causing Bonnie to jump. She had a feeling this argument had been raging for a while for Kim to be using that sort of language toward her parents.

"Your brothers have been warned," Mrs. Possible said.

"Warning them doesn't do any good! You've warned them for the past two weeks and they're still acting like the terror squad they are! You're letting them get away with everything!" Kim screamed.

Bonnie decided to walk away at this point. This was not her business. She texted Kim when she was down the street, canceling the study session they had planned. It was not like they would get to it anyway.

"What's the point of studying?" Bonnie muttered. She had not gotten much work done since she and Kim had been banished to the living room. Between the tweebs, her friends, and her own spiraling thoughts, she might as well give up and accept the inevitable. Her grades would go back to the way they were and she would finish her high school career with shit grades. College had been nice dream, but it was only a dream.

Her thoughts were disturbed when Kim texted her back. "Meet you at the library?"

Bonnie scoffed. The library was worse than the living room. Dozens of people they knew or were at least aware of wandered in and out of their personal space, questioning why they were together, what they were doing, and seeming to think they needed more company. It was a taste of what would happen if they were came out. But, that was not likely to happen now. They saw each other less and less, not counting cheerleader practice where they could not do anything beyond look at each other.

"No, I'm not going to the library," Bonnie replied, working her thumbs over the keyboard of her phone.

"Where are you headed?"

Bonnie scoffed. She had no idea. She had no idea about anything. She did not text back.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie went to a "party" in the woods. It was just a bunch of teens getting drunk and making out. These things tended to last longer than house parties because no one was around to call the cops on them. Bonnie had quite a bit to drink, just wanting to forget about life right now. When a football player thought he had rights to make out with Bonnie, she shoved him away and stumbled off to go think.

"Hey!" he barked.

"Fuck off forever," Bonnie replied, patting herself on the back for the witty response.

"Fuck you," he countered.

Bonnie wandered off, trying to find "her spot," but she was a little too drunk to manage. Tripping in the woods, she groaned and had to fight off the urge to cry. _If only Kim could see you now_. For the first time, Bonnie managed to ignore the voice in her head. She already knew she was fucked up, so she did not need to hear it.

It was hard to believe that two weeks ago, she was on top of the world. She had everything in front of her. She had been preparing to take the SAT, thought she was going to college, and dared to think she might walk into the sunset with Kim Possible. _Stupid_.

"Bonnie?" It sounded like Kim called her, but that was stupid. "Bonnie?"

Bonnie turned, trying to figure out who was calling her, but it did not take much to figure out. She was not so drunk to not recognize her girlfriend. Kim fell to her side and helped support her. Bonnie buried her face into Kim's neck and then suddenly started sobbing.

"Bonnie, it's okay," Kim cooed, rubbing her back.

"No, it's not okay! I ruined everything! You and your parents are fighting and they hate me and I haven't done my homework in two weeks and I'm not going to do well on the SATs and I'm never going to go to college and I'm going to end up marrying one of those idiots back there and working in a supermarket!" Bonnie wailed.

"Okay, I don't think you ruined anything, but you're in a state. Come on," Kim gently urged her.

Bonnie grumbled something. She was not even sure what she was trying to say, but Kim pulled her along and she followed. Kim helped her get to the spot she sought, the little plateau overlooking Middleton. Kim kept an arm around her, holding her close.

"I know you're tired of me saying it, but I'm really sorry," Kim said.

"You shouldn't be. I messed it all up," Bonnie said.

"Why do you think that? You didn't mess anything up. I told my parents and they don't hate you, just to be clear."

"You're just saying that," Bonnie grumbled. She was certain the Possibles hated her. Why else would they put her through this? Put Kim through this? Why else would they let the twins run wild amongst them while she was trying so hard to study and be a better person?

Kim pulled her just a little closer. "I'm not."

Bonnie looked into her eyes. "They don't hate me for making you gay?"

Kim chuckled. "Sweetheart, they don't hate you. They don't even mind me dating a girl. They just feel betrayed right now. They think I lied to them and I think they're punishing me with all of these stupid rules. I mean, I don't even understand why you can't stay past seven?"

"It doesn't matter. Nothing matters."

"Why do you say that?" Kim asked, softly caressing Bonnie's cheek.

"When was the last time we kissed?" Bonnie countered.

"Uh… like really kissed?"

"Yes, really kissed, really touched, really anything? We haven't even had a chance to talk to each other for more than a few minutes without someone butting in," Bonnie pointed out and then she sighed. "This is just a little display of what would happen if everyone knew, if our bubble popped."

Kim sighed. "Yeah…" Leaning down some, she kissed Bonnie's cheek. "I tell you what, I'll piece together the bubble again, but no more drinking for you, okay?"

"Why no more drinking?" Bonnie whined. This was the best she felt in a while. If anything, she needed to drink more.

"Because do you know how scared I was when I went looking for you? Thank goodness we know some of the same people, but I didn't feel any better when they told me you came out here to one of these stupid parties. I just thought something might happen to you. Hell, I was scared when I saw you fall and then I figured you were coming here. God, Bonnie, what if you tried to climb up here while you were drunk? You could've been hurt."

Blue eyes rolled and Bonnie scoffed. "So what? No one would care."

Kim inhaled sharply and turned Bonnie to her. This olive eyes looked dead serious, even to Bonnie's beer goggles. "You listen to me. _I_ care. I care so damn much. This is a hiccup, but it's not the end, okay?"

"It's not?" Bonnie sniffled. It felt like the end.

"No, it's not."

"Then… could you kiss me?" Bonnie requested.

Laughing, Kim kissed her on the forehead. "I'll kiss you properly when you're not so drunk." Bonnie groaned and Kim grinned. "I think it'll help curb your drinking."

Bonnie sighed and leaned into Kim. She sighed and Kim wiped away her tears. They stared out into the cityscape for a long time. And even though it was really cold, this was the warmest Bonnie had felt in a long time.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: The Creation of Galaxies

Kim's insides felt like they were drenched in acid, burning and melting inside of her. She knew she messed up back when she and Bonnie first sat in her living room. She did not regret telling her parents and she knew it would take them time to adjust, but this was more than a hiccup. Somewhere along the way, her parents zigged when she thought they would zag.

She actually expected her father to zig. Whenever dating came up, her father fumbled and flipped and probably would be more comfortable if she told him she was going to sell drugs than she was going to date someone. So, she knew he would come up with rules and ways to keep her from seeing Bonnie.

Her mother… this was not the reaction she expected. Her mother had seemed so comfortable with Bonnie and liked her. She thought her mother would be all right with her dating Bonnie after she let the idea sink in, but nope.

Her mother's opinion did not come from the reasons Bonnie thought. Her mother was not homophobic or against lesbians or anything… or so Kim thought anyway. Her mother had not say anything to make it seem that way anyway. But, her mother did have some issue with Bonnie. Kim was not entirely sure what it was yet, but she would find out.

She could not just sit around while Bonnie was hurt, especially if Bonnie was going to try to drink the pain away. Something had to be done. So, Kim made it her mission to talk to her parents again that night… after she made sure Bonnie got home safely.

"Kimmie, you're late," her mother pointed out as soon as she came through the door.

Kim glanced at the clock. She was ten minutes late. "I had to make sure Bonnie got home all right."

"And you couldn't call?" her father inquired. Both of her parents stood by the stairs.

Kim sighed. "I was more worried about Bonnie than anything else."

"Why, what's wrong with Bonnie?" her mother asked.

Kim just waved the question off. She did not want to tell her parents Bonnie had been drinking. They would not approve and she doubted they would understand Bonnie's depression. They would just focus on the fact that Bonnie was a minor and consuming alcohol.

"What's wrong with Bonnie is the same thing that's wrong with me," Kim said. "We want to spend time together and not be terrorized by the tweebs."

"Kim," her father said in a stern tone.

"We're not discussing this again," her mother declared.

"Why can't we discuss this? Why can't we work this out?" Kim shouted.

"There's nothing to discuss," her mother countered.

"We've made the rules and the rules are the rules," her father chimed in.

Kim sighed and rubbed her face with both hands. "Why are you being this way? We're trying to do the right thing here and you're standing in our way!"

"Do the right thing? Doing the right thing would be obeying the rules," her mother said.

"The rules don't make any sense and they're driving us crazy! We can't get anything done and you're not helping!" Kim argued.

"We're not here to help you do whatever you want with Bonnie," her mother pointed out. "Now, there are rules set in place and they are going to stay in place. There's no room for arguing."

Kim stomped her foot. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, we're not and you can go to your room now," her mother stated.

Kim glared at her parents for a moment, upset with everything right now. It did not make any sense. Why were her parents purposely making her life so hard? When did they get so unfair?

"Mom, Dad," Kim pled.

"Go to your room," her mother repeated. Her father gave her a stern look, backing the order.

Groaning loudly, Kim marched up to her room. None of this made any sense, but she refused to let it cost her Bonnie and she would not allow Bonnie to be in the pain she witnessed tonight. She would do something to make this work because she could do anything and she would do anything for Bonnie at this point.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the couple celebrates Valentine's Day, or at least they try to.


	15. Heart

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

15: Heart

"Valentine's Day is coming up," Kim pointed out, unnecessarily of course. Bonnie knew that.

They were secreted away in Bonnie's spot on the plateau in the woods. Kim had gone out and bought a proper tent, heater, mats, and even a cooler with drinks and snacks. This was where they went after school now. Homework was done, as was studying for the SAT, but best of all there was talking, cuddling, and kissing. They had time to themselves.

"Yes, it is," Bonnie replied, jotting down sentences for Spanish homework. She had a lot to make up for Spanish class and Kim was on her butt about it. _Wouldn't you like to have Kim really on your butt?_ She managed to ignore the stupid, very inappropriate voice in her head.

"I figure we should talk about it. What if we both planned something? We wouldn't be able to do both depending on what it is. I mean, what if we both planned a romantic dinner?" Kim pointed out.

Bonnie looked at Kim. Kim had finished her homework and was just going through her Kimmunicator. Bonnie did not bother to see what Kim was busy with. She glanced up at Bonnie and inched over a little closer, not that the tent gave them much space apart.

"Do you have ideas?" Bonnie asked since Kim looked like she was searching.

"I'm looking for ideas, but I just want to be sure. I mean, this is our first Valentine's Day and I don't want to mess it up," Kim explained with a sheepish smile.

Spanish homework could wait. Bonnie put it down and put her arms around Kim. She nuzzled Kim's neck, grateful that they could keep the temperature in the tent warm enough where their coats were not necessary. There was nothing between them, but their usual clothing. She placed a gentle kiss to Kim's neck, coaxing a smile out of her girlfriend.

"You're doing wonderful," Bonnie tried to assure her. She knew Kim's self-doubt came from their recent trials with trying to work out how to be together in the Possible living room. Apparently, the solution was to take a tent to this place.

"I really screwed up," Kim whimpered and her smile disappeared.

Bonnie decided against verbally arguing. Kim seemed to succeed best in reassuring her when she was close and used body language. So, she nuzzled Kim again before gently putting her hand on Kim cheek. She turned Kim's head a little and then kissed her softly. Kim whimpered again as she kissed back.

"You're doing wonderful," Bonnie repeated and she did not give Kim a chance to respond. She pressed again kiss, deeper than before. She put her hand in Kim's hair and ran her fingers through it.

Kim moaned into her mouth. The best thing about the tent idea was that they did not have to be quiet anymore when they made out. It was very freeing, even though they still had not gone further than kissing and caressing. But, it was enough because they did not have to worry about someone barging in on them and could just do it as long as they wanted. Bonnie would do it forever if she could.

"You're doing wonderful," Bonnie said again once she had to pull away for air.

Kim looked at her for a moment before pulling her in for another kiss. Kim's hand cupped the back of her skull and Bonnie leaned forward, urging Kim down. Kim retreated, but made sure her mouth stayed with Bonnie. By the time they had to breathe again, Kim was lying down and Bonnie was partially on top of her.

"You're doing wonderful," Bonnie repeated. She would say it until Kim believed it.

Kim smiled. "I got that," she replied, scratching the back of Bonnie's head. The attention made Bonnie purr.

"I just want to be sure." Leaning down, she kissed the end of Kim's nose.

Kim's smile grew. "I like this playful side of you."

"You're the only one who gets to see it. Now, do you have anything in particular you want to do on Valentine's Day?" Bonnie asked, making sure to stay close in case the urge to kiss Kim came over her again, which was very likely.

"I just want to make it special."

"Baby, do you realize just being with you in this stupid tent doing homework is special to me? We could do this everyday and I'd be fine," Bonnie stated. This was the truth. _I'm so gone on this girl_.

Laughing, Kim tilted her head a little. "Seriously, Bonnie? Yeah, you're happy now, but we both know this isn't going to last forever. Neither of us will enjoy hanging out in a tent forever."

That was true, but Bonnie was of the belief that she would be fine as long as she had Kim. She did not care where they were. Leaning down, she kissed Kim for the hell of it. Kim kissed her back and they lost themselves in each other for a little while.

"Do you want to do anything for Valentine's Day?" Kim asked once Bonnie pulled away.

Bonnie almost let it slip that Kim knew what she wanted. But, Kim was not ready for it. Bonnie was not even sure she was ready for it. But, it was so tempting, especially since they had a little getaway now. She could barely imagine being in this tent, feeling Kim's skin pressed against hers, feeling all of Kim against her fingertips, and having Kim in her mouth. No, they probably would not be doing something like that anytime soon and they should probably do it some place that was not this tent.

"Something simple would be fine. I mean, we could go out to dinner," Bonnie replied.

Nodding, Kim arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure? That might get people poking around our little bubble."

"No, people will feel sorry for us. We've got no boyfriends and we've been reduced to going out with each other to feel less like losers," Bonnie remarked. She could already picture Tara giving them a sad little smile if she happened across them.

Staring at her, Kim's brow wrinkled. "I feel like you've told this story before."

Bonnie chuckled a little. "I've made up this story for people I've seen alone on Valentine's Day who I know aren't a couple. Most people will give us a brief thought and then go back to enjoying their date. It'll be fine."

Moving up some, Kim kissed Bonnie and then settled back on the floor. "Do you want to go out? Hide in plain sight?"

"It's something to think of. You want to split responsibility of the day? You know, you do one part of the date and I do another part?"

"That could work. Now, we should get back to work. You need to finish Spanish, so we can get to the SATs."

Groaning, Bonnie pretended this was the worse news ever. She actually looked forward to SAT studying, though. Kim made her believe she would do well and she once again believed she would go to college. Optimism could be contiguous.

-8-8-8-8-

Valentine's Day was upon them and Bonnie was a little happy it was a school day. It meant she could avoid her sisters for the most part. She had to put up with them in the morning, but it was the usual nonsense. They knew she no longer had a boyfriend, so they made fun of her, claiming she was pathetic for not having a guy and that she was gay. Whatever. At least she was happy. They could not claim the same thing.

"What the hell are you girls squawking about?" their father demanded as he marched into the kitchen.

Bonnie's mother's face lit up as soon as the man stepped into the kitchen. She presented him with a special breakfast that he did not notice or appreciate from what Bonnie could tell. There was no thanks or show of affection. He probably did not know what day it was. But, Bonnie took his entrance as a distraction to get the hell out of there, especially when he turned his attention to barking at Connie for something. She had other things to worry about.

"Bonnie, make sure you eat," her mother called to her. "You need the energy," she practically cooed, blowing kisses in Bonnie's direction. She handed Bonnie a plate with two waffles on it. The waffles were golden and undoubtedly perfect.

Groaning, Bonnie rolled her eyes. Thankfully, her mother turned her attention back to her father. While her mother tried to get her father's attention and her father was all about screaming at Connie, Bonnie went back to making her escape.

Trotting out of the house with her waffles in hand, she met Kim and Ron at the corner as usual. She resisted the urge to kiss Kim, but she smiled at her. Kim smiled back and took Bonnie's hand for a moment. Her thumb caressed Bonnie's palm in slow circles.

"You got waffles?" Ron asked, looking at the plate in Bonnie's hand.

"Homemade," she replied with a smile. They were delicious. Her mother made all different sorts of ones, but today was strawberry with whipped cream, in honor of Valentine's Day.

"Waffles!" Rufus popped up and he was on Ron's shoulder in less than a second, obviously needing to see the food.

"You get homemade waffles for breakfast?" Ron pouted a bit. "My mom will barely scramble eggs for me!"

Kim scoffed. "You like making your own breakfast, Ron. You could easily make yourself waffles if you really wanted to."

Considering that for a moment, his face went back to normal. "Yeah, I guess I could."

"Well, until then, you can have most of this," Bonnie said, handing over the plate. "I can only eat half of one, but my mom always forces us to take two." She had already eaten her half back in the house.

"Your mom sounds like a good lady," Ron stated. His eyes lit up as he accepted the plate of waffles and he wasted no time digging in.

Bonnie decided against commenting. Her mother was a good lady, but a little off. She liked taking care of her family, but she also liked acted like the family was perfect, which was weird. Bonnie did not want to get into that, though. Outside of the house, the house did not exist as far as she was concerned and no one in that house existed either.

"So, Ron, do you have plans for today?" Bonnie asked. She could not imagine him having plans, but stranger things had happened.

Ron only shrugged. Bonnie glanced at Kim, hoping she would clarify. Kim shrugged as well.

"I have no idea if he has plans or not. He's been very secretive," Kim explained.

"Usually that means plans, but this is Ron," Bonnie remarked, cutting him a glance.

"Hey!" Ron huffed and he had the nerve to glare at them. Of course, it held no power since he was Ron… and he had syrup leaking down the corner of his mouth.

"Then tell us if you have plans," Bonnie said, giving Ron a light shove.

Ron laughed and shoved some more of the waffles in his mouth. Bonnie was glad she had already eaten her fill because he used her fork and everything. Ron apparently did not care.

"These are good," Ron said around a mouthful of waffles. He broke some off and fed it to Rufus. Nope, he definitely did not care because Rufus touched the fork to take his piece off of it.

"Yeah, my mom's a good cook, but what are you going to do for today?" Bonnie pressed.

He shrugged. "What are you gonna do? You didn't make up with Brick for the day just to have some fun or something?"

Bonnie narrowed her gaze on him. "What the hell do you mean by that?" she growled. _Wow, his opinion of me is fucking low_. Of course, she understood what she did to deserve that, but she thought they were beyond that now. She just gave him waffles for crying out loud!

"Bonnie, I'm sure it came out a lot worse than Ron meant," Kim jumped in, looking for defend her friend from certain death.

Ron's brown eyes got really big as he slowly realized how close he was to dying. "Geez, Bonnie, it's just a joke! We're friends now. We joke!" Then his mouth fell into a pout. "Aren't we?" his voice was low, heartbreaking.

Bonnie sighed. He was just the right amount of pathetic to get out of trouble, which she believed he knew on some level. He probably did not mean his question to come out as horrible as it did, probably just thinking back to her past behavior, and now since they were friends, he was allowed to casually mention it. Not like her other friends, who would say the same thing, and underlying mean she was a gold digger… in a high school sort of way, she supposed. No, Brick did not have money, but being on his arm meant popularity. But, she was popular enough on her own to never need him again.

"Yeah, we are," Bonnie grumbled.

Ron grinned and Kim bumped Bonnie with her shoulder. Bonnie glanced at Kim, who smiled at her. Reaching out, she took Kim's hand for a moment and just played with her fingers. Kim smiled more, eyes sparkling and promising a day to remember once they were out of school. Kim stepped close to her.

"I've got a great dinner planned for us," Kim whispered.

Bonnie only grinned. They had agreed Kim would handle dinner and Bonnie would take care of after dinner. Bonnie had scored tickets to Of Mice and Men, playing in the Middleton Theater district. While it was not The Grapes of Wrath, Kim would get the connection. Besides, they both sort of liked Of Mice and Men. Hopefully, Kim had permission to stay out past ten tonight.

-8-8-8-8-

Kim had rushed out during the middle of the school day to go save the world. Bonnie did not think anything of it. Bonnie figured she would be back by their dinner date, so she went to cheer practice without a worry beyond the usual when Kim ran off for a mission. Cheer practice went as it usually did… until someone tried to come at Bonnie about Valentine's Day.

"So, Bonnie, I hear Brick's going out with Amber tonight," Laurel said. She was one of the "D" squad cheerleaders, as Bonnie liked to called them. Girls who were just good enough to make the squad and maybe be in a routine if several people were injured and could not make it.

"Brick's free to do whatever or whomever he likes," Bonnie replied. She was not surprised Amber would be the who, even though she and Amber were "friends." At least Amber was not a total bitch, but Bonnie would warn Brick to consider he was being used because that was what a good person would do, right?

"Yeah, and he doesn't want to do you," Laurel kept going.

Bonnie paused and gave Laurel a look. Did this girl really want to dance? The other cheerleaders stood back to watch, which let Bonnie know their coach was gone. And Kim was not here. Well, the gloves could come off then.

"I think you have it wrong. I don't want him, but that doesn't even matter. What are you trying to get at? At least I'm not some pathetic loser hoping people won't notice I don't have a date by pointing out someone else doesn't have a date," Bonnie remarked. Most of the cheerleaders did not get the hypocrisy of the statement and just backed her up with stupid "oh" noises of approval.

Laurel scoffed. "No, you're just some pathetic loser who can't even get a date after Brick dumped you."

"Honey, I could pull anybody's boyfriend right now if I wanted to, but I don't want to. If you had a boyfriend, I'd prove my point, but you don't." Bonnie then smirked, deciding it was time to go in for the kill. "But, I do hear you've been chatting up Andre Novak. I think I'll stop by the tennis courts now that practice is over and see how he's doing. Maybe he'll want to go to dinner tonight."

Laurel's face turned an unhealthy shade of purple. "He wouldn't want you anyway. Not after pretty much every team has used you as a cumbucket."

The "oh!" noises erupted again, but Bonnie kept her cool as well as her demonic smirk. "You really think that? Let's go test your theory." She turned as if she was going to walk away.

"Bonnie, stop!" Laurel cried.

"Why should I? I'm a slut, right? Maybe I should just prove you right." She took another step.

"Bonnie!" Laurel whimpered and Bonnie knew she won. All Laurel had to do was say it. "Please."

Folding her arms across her chest, Bonnie faced this upstart. "What?"

"Please, don't," Laurel said.

Sucking her teeth in disgust, Bonnie turned and walked away. She headed for the locker rooms, not the tennis court. She would not touch Andre Novak, a star Middleton tennis player, but they all knew if she wanted to, she could have him.

"So, are you doing anything tonight?" Tara asked Bonnie. Their lockers were close to each other.

"Nope," Bonnie replied.

Tara gave her a hard look. "Nothing at all?"

For a moment, Bonnie felt like Tara was looking through her. It was feeling she also got from Mrs. Possible from time to time. She had to wonder if periodically the words "I'm a big lesbian" did not flash on her forehead or something. Were there tells she was unaware of?

"Is that a problem?" Bonnie snapped.

Tara was unfazed, which made Bonnie think she lost her edge… with Tara anyway. Only time would tell if that was actually a problem. Tara seemed genuinely cool.

"No, it's not a problem, but it's not like you," Tara explained with a small smile, like to soften the blow.

"I'm doing a lot of things not like me if you haven't noticed," Bonnie pointed out.

Tara smiled even more now. "That's true. Well, if it doesn't bother you, then I guess it's fine."

"Then it's fine," Bonnie said.

Tara smiled again and then they were off. Bonnie checked her phone to see if Kim had called or texted, but there were no messages. She went home to get ready for their date. Thankfully, she had the place to herself.

An hour before their reservation, Kim texted Bonnie the address to the restaurant and Bonnie figured Kim would be there when she showed up. Instead, she ended up being seated alone since it was only a reservation for two and Kim was nowhere in sight.

"Come on, Kim," Bonnie muttered, wanting to feel faith that Kim would come through, but history had taught her otherwise. No one ever came through. She had to take charge and make things happen or they never would. It was impossible to do that with Kim out on a mission, though.

She tried to take comfort in the fact that Kim obviously put some thought into this place. It was definitely one of the best restaurants in Middleton and they would have been very unlikely to be seen by anyone they knew. The place was way too expensive for the average high school student. Kim probably called in a favor or two to set this up. _She cares. She'll be here_.

After a few lonely minutes, Bonnie texted Kim, wanting to know where she was. There was no answer. Squirming in her seat, Bonnie sighed and tried to settle down. Kim would be here. She wanted today to be special. She would be here.

Of course, after an hour with a bunch of unanswered texts and no call, Bonnie was a lot less confident. Her waiter wandered over for about the sixth time and gave her a sympathetic smile. She glared at him.

"Honey, I don't think he's coming," he said with a sigh.

"Yeah, well, I didn't ask you," Bonnie huffed.

"He's not worth the hassle."

She glared even harder now, causing him to back up. "You don't have a fucking clue what she's worth!"

Rising from her seat, Bonnie made a show of throwing the chair out of her way and storming out of the restaurant. That stupid waiter did not know what she was going through. Kim did not just stand her up. Kim was out saving the world and for all she knew could be dead in a ditch, which would explain the unanswered texts and no calls. But, Kim was worth it! Kim was worth everything!

Once she was outside in the cold Middleton winter air, she pulled her coat close to her and took out her phone. There were still no calls or messages from Kim. Sniffling, Bonnie rubbed her face with one hand while the other returned her phone to her purse. She did not know what to do with herself. The play did not start for another hour. She could not go anywhere or she would risk someone seeing her dressed up, but knew she did not have a boyfriend. She could always go home. Her sisters were out and her parents might actually be celebrating Valentine's Day, which would allow her to make it to her room without being harassed.

Of course, she ended up at her spot instead. Everything Kim brought for them to stay up there on cold days was hidden away in a small cavern in the rocks. The tent was easy to set up and she turned on the heater. She was glad Kim had her friend Wade modify the heater, so it ran without the Kimmunicator battery or she would have frozen up there.

Bonnie looked down at the city and waited. At some point, she pulled out the theater tickets and stared at them. After two hours and no word from Kim, somehow the tickets ended up torn in half. Bonnie did not remember doing it, but she held pieces in her hands. She figured she might as well go home now. If Kim was not back from saving the world, then whenever she did come back, she would have to go straight home because of her curfew.

"What a waste…" Bonnie muttered, staring down at her clothes. She had put particular care in getting dressed for their date. "Well, Kim, I hope you're all right wherever you are."

She had no doubt Kim was fine, as Kim was always fine, but whatever she had to do was obviously difficult. She would not just be away from Bonnie on this special day… _right? Only saving the world would make her not be here… right?_ Dread bubbled in Bonnie's stomach and she knew what would come next. _Or maybe she figured out there are so many things more important than you_.

And while she knew the voice was full of shit, tears still welled up in her eyes. Wiping one eye, she moved to exit the tent and was greeted by Kim, holding a dozen red roses. Gasping, she felt like her heart stopped.

"Hey, sweetheart. I thought I'd find you here," Kim said.

Bonnie only sniffled and hid her mouth behind her hand. Kim came. Kim was all right and Kim came. The hero gave her a little sheepish half-smile and shrugged slightly. She looked adorable.

"Can I come in?" Kim requested.

All she could manage was a nod and she moved out of the way. Kim practically dived into the tent. Once the flap was shut, Kim gave Bonnie her space and offered her another sheepish smile.

"I know you hate when I say it, but I'm so sorry," Kim apologized.

Bonnie shook her head. "Did you save the world?"

Kim's eyebrows bent in, like she did not understand the question. "Uh… yeah…"

"Then it's fine."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure." Details would be nice, but she could get those later. It was just nice to see Kim was not dead and had not forgotten her.

Kim smiled and moved closer to Bonnie. Bonnie also moved closer. She liked that Kim knew sometimes she needed space without her having to say so. Kim seemed to know when she needed space and also when it was safe to come within her orbit.

"I know you're a little mad and very disappointed…" Kim sighed and presented Bonnie with the roses. There was also a box of chocolates with a bow.

Bonnie wanted to object, but there was no reason to lie. Kim was right and she would try to fix it. Reaching out, Kim caressed Bonnie's cheek and, yes, her hand was cold, but Bonnie refused to pull away. Leaning in, Kim gave her a gentle kiss.

"I know I ruined the night because I had to run off and be a hero, but thanks for not throwing that back in my face," Kim said.

"I knew what I was getting into with you, Possible." This was true and she would never expect Kim to put her ahead of the world. "Did someone expect you to do that?"

Olive eyes looked down for a moment, but Kim smiled. "I've had a few people get upset over it, but I'm glad you get it."

"Well, Kim, I'm growing." And this was true. The old her definitely would have burned with rage at being stood up, at not being the center of attention, and at not being the very focal point that Kim's whole universe revolved around. But, if she had learned nothing else, she knew Kim would be there. Kim would stand by her and she could trust Kim. The feelings Kim gave her, she wanted to give them to Kim in return.

"Yeah." Kim leaned in for one more kiss. "I have a surprise for you. Hopefully, it'll make up for missing the dinner and messing up what you had planned."

"What I had planned?" Bonnie went into her pockets and pulled out the pieces of tickets. Sighing, she held them up to Kim.

"Oh…" Kim stared down at the ticket pieces and picked one up. "Of Mice and Men? Oh, this would've been awesome."

"Yeah," Bonnie muttered.

Kim put her arm around Bonnie. "I know it's not the same, but I'll get replacement tickets, okay?"

It was not the same, but the thought was nice, so Bonnie nodded. Smiling, Kim helped her out of the tent. They put away their little hideout and then Bonnie allowed Kim to led her into the woods. They went off a path, so Bonnie stepped closer, not wanting to get lost or fall.

"You'll like this," Kim promised.

"Where are we going? How do you know where we're going?" Bonnie asked.

Kim shrugged. "I just know the woods really well. I mean, I was a scout and I just know."

Bonnie chuckled. "You don't even get how you do certain things, do you?"

Kim only laughed, which for Bonnie was confirmation. It made sense to her. How could Kim explain herself? She doubted the doctors Possible could explain Kim and not only were they her parents, but also a brain surgeon and a rocket scientist.

"Okay, so, here are," Kim said as they stepped into a clearing. Unfortunately, it was pitch black where they were, so Bonnie could not see what Kim meant.

"Um… flashlight?" Bonnie suggested.

"Oh, right!" Kim could be a bit of a goofball if given the chance. Taking out her Kimmunicator, she hit a button and then lights came on, but not from the device. A cabin just ahead of them lit up.

"What's this?" Bonnie asked.

"This is our little place. Way better than the tent, huh?"

"How the hell did you get a cabin?"

"Well, it's not really ours. I know who owns it and he's not going to use it anytime soon. But, it's a lot better than us being huddled together in that little tent. I think you'll be able to study much better and we can relax."

Bonnie felt overwhelmed. Kim had practically gotten them a home. She threw herself on Kim and kissed her with everything inside of her. Kim was serious about them and she was right to have faith in Kim. This was right in her life and it made her life right. Being calm, settled, and… dare she think, loved? This made life right.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Soul

Watching Bonnie's face light up as she took in the cabin should have made Kim feel amazing. Inside, it only turned her stomach and made her feel like she would throw up. She had felt like that all day, especially when she realized Bonnie would be sitting alone in that restaurant and there was no way for her to get in touch with Bonnie. Throughout the day, she pictured Bonnie's heart breaking at the dinner table, embarrassed, hurt, and alone.

When she saw Bonnie in the tent real life proved to be a million times worse than her imagination. It shattered her insides and she did not care to put herself back together. She only cared about doing right by Bonnie. She had screwed up again… maybe bigger than her bright idea of outing them to her parents.

And the fact that Bonnie did not hold this, or even her parents, against her… Kim's world felt upside down. How did she become so important to someone, to Bonnie? How could she stand up for someone so important to her? And Bonnie of all people?

Bonnie kissing her had left Kim feeling even more bereft of happiness. She could feel Bonnie's emotions against her lips and all she could think about was how she had ruined their first Valentine's Day. When Bonnie pulled away, she knew she had been found out. Turquoise eyes studied her too carefully.

"Let's go in," Kim suggested, her voice cracking. She gave Bonnie's hand a slight tug, but Bonnie did not budge.

"Kim," Bonnie said.

Kim sighed. "Please…" She did not want Bonnie to let her off the hook. She just needed to feel this pain, remember this moment, and then make sure it never happened again.

"You don't have any reason to feel bad."

"I do and I need you to just leave it at that and let me feel bad."

Bonnie scoffed. "If I leave you to feel bad, then I put this dress on for nothing."

Kim's brow furrowed. She could not see Bonnie's dress. Now, Bonnie tugged her to the cabin, stepping onto the porch. Bonnie did not even wait for them to get inside, removing her coat and giving Kim an eyeful of what she missed.

"Damn…" Kim whispered with wide eyes. Bonnie's Little Black Dress made the one Kim owned look like a rumpled tablecloth. "You put that one just for me?"

"Of course. Feeling better yet?" Bonnie smirked, clearly aware of the effect she had on Kim.

Kim opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but then closed it when she realized it would not be appropriate. She respected Bonnie and did not want her hormones to make it seem otherwise. _But, fuck_.

"You're sexy," Kim found herself blurting out. It was better than what she was going to say, but still she blushed.

Bonnie smiled and gave her a sweet little kiss. "And you're cute… and happy."

Kim could not deny that… well, the happy part anyway. How could she not be happy with Bonnie in that dress all for her? And then Bonnie stepped into the cabin, making sure to sway her hips and Kim's eyes could not leave Bonnie's ass. _Okay, so I'm totally gay for Bonnie_. She was fine with that as she followed Bonnie into the cabin.

Bonnie did not give her a chance to process these passions or her old emotions. As soon as the door was closed, Bonnie's lips were on hers. Bonnie tasted so sweet and felt like heaven. Kim wanted to feel undeserving, but there was no room for that with Bonnie kissing her.

"You listen to me, Possible, no, the day didn't go the way we planned, but you came for me," Bonnie said.

"But—" Kim tried to object.

"No, you came for me. You didn't just write this off and go home. You came to get me, you came to show me this, and you did this for me. I don't want you to change who you are," Bonnie insisted, eyes locked on Kim. It felt like she looked all the way down inside Kim and still cared for her.

"But, I want to be here for you during special moments like this. You're important to me, Bonnie." Bonnie was more than important to her, but she could not put it into words.

Bonnie smiled softly. "I know I am and that's why it's all right. I need you to understand, I don't expect you to be perfect."

"But, I want to be perfect for you."

A light chuckle came from Bonnie. "You're amazing and I'm happy you feel that way. Those words and this gift make this the best Valentine's Day ever. You want to be with me for me, not for any other reasons."

Kim could only bring Bonnie into a hug. She wanted to be perfect because Bonnie seemed so perfect for her. She ran her fingers through Bonnie's hair and showered her cheeks with gentle kisses. Bonnie turned just enough to catch her lips and suddenly their mouths moved against each other. Then there were tongues and Kim felt like lightning went through her. A moan echoed through the cabin.

 _Wait, this might get out of control_. While Kim wanted to keep making out with Bonnie, she did not want it to go too far. Sure, her body hummed, wanting more, but she did not want this to be their first time. _Wait, first time?_ Okay, Kim knew she needed to pump the brakes because she had never thought about a possible first time with anyone until Bonnie. She needed to be sure about it.

"Bonnie," Kim said, managing to step away from Bonnie's delicious mouth. "Let me show you around a little." She needed some space to cool down.

Shaking her head, Bonnie just smiled. "You're so adorably transparent. Kim, this doesn't have to be any more than what it is right now. I know you're not ready."

Kim smiled. Bonnie knew her pretty well. Making out would be nice and hopefully Bonnie would slow things down if Kim could not. She wanted to just enjoy this moment, enjoy her time with Bonnie.

"You're amazing, Bonnie," Kim whispered before giving Bonnie another kiss. Much shorter than before.

"You're amazing, too. You make me feel amazing and you make me want to be better," Bonnie replied. "Now, stop talking and kiss me more."

Kim smiled and obliged. Now, all she could do was feel happy. Bonnie made her happy, even when she should feel horrible. Bonnie was the sun in her chaotic world and she did not mind one bit.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Bonnie takes the SAT… and has her world crushed.


	16. The Heavens Opened Up

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

16: The Heavens Opened Up

The little cabin in the woods was a million times better than their little tent, even though the tent was great. First off, the cabin was warmer with better temperature regulation. It allowed Bonnie and Kim to be cozy while cuddling and not have to worry about it getting too hot or too cold as they tried to balance the temperature. So, they took advantage of that.

"I don't get this one," Bonnie groaned, pointing down at a question in her SAT prep book. She sat in front of Kim, in between her legs. They were in front of the fireplace in the small, one room cabin. She had been openly awed when Kim started the fire with no problem.

Kim leaned down, her hair tickling Bonnie's neck. Kim's fingers danced across Bonnie's biceps, which was a little distracting, but Bonnie did not say anything. Kim explained the problem and then leaned back again, but her fingers remained where they were. Bonnie worked through the rest of the pages as quickly as she could and then turned to Kim. Kim wasted no time giving her a kiss.

Bonnie moaned as soon as those lips touched hers. She brought a hand up, holding onto Kim's shoulder. As they pulled away for air, they both smiled at each other and both of their hands went through the other's hair. The way those olive eyes stared at her, Bonnie felt like she could get lost there… and in the cabin it would be all right. They had the time and no one could invade on their space.

"Have I told you how awesome this damned cabin is?" Bonnie asked with a dreamy sigh.

Kim's eyes sparkled as she laughed a little. "Trust me, I know, and agree. It's totally spanking."

"Yeah, totally." Bonnie smiled. "Your parents don't mind you being out all day like this?" She had wondered this since Kim presented her with the cabin. They had this same discussion when Kim brought up the tent.

"They know I'm doing work with you and helping you study for the SAT. Hell, I even told them if they just let us back in my room, we'll work there."

Bonnie was not sure if she agreed with that now. They were totally alone here. They were able to explore each other a little more without having to worry about someone bursting in… or a parent checking in on them to make sure they were _not_ doing anything more than sitting next to each other. But, Bonnie still felt a little guilty about their hideaway.

"You're fighting with them," Bonnie sighed. She knew it only got worse as days past and Kim spent more time with her. The doctors Possible probably did not even know where Kim was, so that only made it worse.

"We'll work it out," Kim replied with a typical nonchalant shrug.

Bonnie shook her head. "I really wish I could see the world through your eyes. I mean, rose-tinted glasses doesn't even begin to cover it." It was exhausting and cute.

Kim chuckled. "You like me this way."

"I wouldn't change you at all." This was no lie.

"I wouldn't change you either."

Bonnie scoffed, settling against Kim's chest again. "I've got a long way to go." She knew this for a fact and did not mind. It still sort of blew her mind that just recognizing her feelings for Kim had opened her up to so many other things. It was seriously like there had always been this other Bonnie inside of her and now that Bonnie was blossoming… and she _liked_ that Bonnie. She liked herself for the first time in a long time… maybe if ever.

"Technically, we all do. Everybody's a work in progress." Kim put a hand on Bonnie's stomach and lightly raked her blunt nails over the exposed skin. Kim had pushed Bonnie's shirt up a little almost as soon as they settled into this position.

"Your philosophical side is so cute," Bonnie snickered, even though she meant it. She hoped Kim kept touching her, maybe even going a little further.

"You're cute in general, but I really like watching you study." Kim leaned in and just nuzzled her for a moment.

"Too bad I'll be taking the test next weekend, then, huh?" She felt a little weird about being called "cute." Generally, she was used to being described as sexy, alluring, and just terms that went along with being gorgeous, but she could get used to being cute if Kim stayed with her.

Kim scoffed against her skin. "There'll be other tests. Plus, you still have to take the ACT, too."

Bonnie did not argue that, even though she knew most people either took the SAT or the ACT, but not both. It did not matter to her. Kim had helped her turn a corner academically, so she would listen to whatever advice Kim gave her. So, she would take the SAT and the ACT. She would also visit the college office more often to find out her chances of going to a good school, learning about scholarships, and whatever else she needed to know. Anything to avoid her darkest fear of marrying some idiot right after high school, getting knocked up by said idiot, and working some dead end job while she and the idiot resented each other.

"I think I'm going to file that information away for a later date. It might prove important," Bonnie finally commented.

"The fact that I like watching you study might prove important?" Kim asked with a scrunched up expression.

Chuckling, Bonnie kissed her. "You are so cute." No, Kim's mind would not wander to the gutter for that. Kim might have the hormones of a teenager and, yeah, sometimes she looked at Bonnie like she just wanted to eat her up, but she was much more in control than most teens. Or maybe it was just that she kept busy in other ways, so the hormones did not bother her as much.

"After the SAT, I'm going to take you, okay?" Kim said.

"Oh, we're going on a post-test date?" Bonnie gave her a teasing smile.

"Yeah, it's the least I can do."

"You encouraged me to apply, you helped me study, and you gave me the perfect haven to study in. I think you've gone above and beyond." Not that she ever expected any less of Kim.

Kim chuckled. "For a friend maybe, but you're my girlfriend and I've learned I really like surprising you and spoiling you as best I can. It makes up for when I have to run out and do a mission."

"Well, I do like being spoiled." Bonnie smiled impishly. She was learning she was probably a spoiled princess at heart and she did not see anything wrong with it. She was just more selective in the attention she wanted now. She did not need everyone looking at her like she used to. She was not a diva really… well, not completely anyway. Okay, not 24/7 like before.

"And this is why we're going somewhere after the test. Besides, I still need to make up Valentine's dinner to you."

Bonnie did not argue that one. It had been more than a little humiliating sitting alone in that restaurant. Sure, Kim was out saving the world, but still, she wished Kim had given her some sign that she should at least have gone home. Yes, she forgave Kim and everything, but it was nice that Kim wanted to make up for it.

"Then I look forward to what you have planned," Bonnie remarked and Kim grinned widely. The expression made Bonnie want to kiss her and so she did.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie was up first in the house on Saturday, which made sense because she had to be at Middleton High by 8:30 for the SAT. Her mother was not even up yet, so there was no homemade breakfast. It was a little weird, but she grabbed a granola bar and some toast, figuring she would be all right. She also downed a glass of orange juice in record time.

She made it to the test early, surprised by the crowd. It was nice to know other people had not taken the SAT yet. She found a group of girls she knew and went to socialize with them until it was time to start the test. They talked about clothes and who was dating who for a while.

"Bonnie, I'm so sorry about what happened with Brick," Melody said, but in a way that did not come across as sorry. Melody was a member of the Future Models of America club and it hurt Bonnie that once upon a time she thought this was a legit club. The ten members tended to sit around reading fashion magazines, pretend to walk on catwalks, and bitch about others. Her type of people less than a year ago.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Amber can have him. I'm not bothered about Brick. I've got other things on my mind."

"I dunno. Some people think you had a breakdown or something and that's why you hang out with Kim Possible more now," Naomi commented.

"It's weird," Lola chimed in.

"Yeah, people think you're weird for hanging with Kim, especially after you made sure everyone know she's a loser," Naomi added.

"People can think what they want. I'm good and Kim's cool. I'm at the top of my game in my cheer routines and I don't need any distractions." This was certainly true, especially when Kim was distraction enough.

"I heard you threw together that routine everyone was talking about back at the basketball game. The one with the slam dunk in it," Lola said.

Bonnie nodded. She got a little creative when the coach felt like safety was not an issue. She had put together a routine for a basketball game and at halftime, they got to show it off. It ended with Kim being sprung off their arms, doing a few twists in the air, and dunking the basketball in a way no one on Middleton High could pull off. People loved it. Plus, the Middleton High won the game. It just so happened that day the halftime show was better than the win.

"I guess you're so busy with your routines and feeling good that's why you're taking the SAT so late," Melody said.

"Ah, so what's your excuse?" Bonnie replied calmly. People certainly seemed to be tempted to test her lately, but she was glad for it. She wanted people to know she was not weak, only changing. She would never be pushed around or bullied in school.

Melody did not have a snap back for it. Bonnie gave her a smug look and then checked the time. She wanted away from these ghouls as soon as possible. Was everyone she knew so toxic?

When she finally sat down, her stomach flipped and her palms got sweaty. She had taken several practice versions of the test and done pretty good, but sitting in front of the real thing was nerve-wracking. But, she took a deep breath, picked up her pencil, and pressed on. She was going to college, damn it.

By the end of the test, Bonnie was still internally a mess. She had left quite a few questions blank and she was scared she had done poorly on everything. There was some guesswork that she probably should not have done and also some questions she felt like she should have known, but did not. Her palms had never stopped sweating and she was hungry. She should have let her mom make her a real breakfast… and maybe got a hug for good luck or something. _Great, I'm delirious from hunger_.

But, Kim was taking her on a date and it would probably involve food. So, all she needed to do was go home and change and food would be in her future. Plus, Kim would hug her, too. Maybe it would bring her retroactive good luck.

She felt better about herself by the time she got home. She had taken the SAT and, sure, it probably was not the best she had ever done on a test, but she had taken it. She was doing something to make sure she did not stay trapped in Middleton for the rest of her life.

Bonnie entered the house and found her day about to be ruined before it really began. Her parents were up and about, as it was the afternoon. Well, her mother was up and about, working in the kitchen from the sound of things. Her father was in "his" chair in the living room and watching television. It all would have been fine if only her father had not noticed her come in.

"Hey, close that door! You're letting the heat out, like I'm made of money!" he barked.

"I have to open it at least for a few seconds to come in," Bonnie grumbled. That was how doors worked, after all.

"And what the hell are you doing in so early?" he demanded.

That was a weird question. Did he just expect them all to be out all day? He had to know that was not a good mark to his parenting skills if his daughters never came home. It was funny how she and her sisters only had curfews when he was trying to be an asshole and have an excuse to lock them out of the house. Any other time, it was like he did not want them to come home… ever.

"I need to change clothes," she replied with a shrug. It was not a big deal, but that was her father. If ever there was a man to make mountains out of molehills, it was him.

"What the hell do you need to change clothes for? When did you even leave the house?" he huffed, as if somehow those two things were related and bothered him.

"I had to go take my SAT this morning," she replied. She had not told them, did not want her mother to make a big deal out of it, especially in front of her sisters.

He scoffed. "What the hell did _you_ take the SAT for?" He gave her a look, a weird one. There were narrowed eyes, but they were laced with skepticism, not the usual irrational anger.

"Because I want to go to college, Dad, duh," she answered, not even caring she gave him attitude now, even though she knew she would get it back ten fold.

Sucking his teeth, he rolled his eyes. "College? What makes you think you're going to college?"

Folding her arms across her chest, she stood her ground. "Because I can make it." _How much has he had to drink already?_ Although, she knew sometimes he was just mean. He was where she and her sisters inherited their personalities from and all he needed was a day that ended in "y" as a reason to tear into people.

He blew a raspberry. "It took you six years to get out of high school."

She growled. This douche did not even know which daughter he was talking to. "Jokes on you, Dad. That was Lonnie and it took her five years. Try to keep up."

He scowled at being corrected and actually stood up. "Yeah, well, I'm sure it'll take you just as long. You're not that much brighter than she is. I'm sure you barely spelled your name right on your SAT. Can you even spell SAT?"

Bonnie tensed. "I can spell it just as well as I can spell wasted."

She struck a cord, as she had a talent for doing. His eyes went sharp and dark. He sort of puffed himself up, like he was looming over her. She braced herself for the next hit and found out she actually inherited her talent from him, too.

"You should be able to since you just _wasted_ your time taking that SAT and _wasted_ your money paying for it. You think you're going to college? With what money? You think I'm paying for you to go some place and party? No. You don't even have a college fund because we already know how you're going to end up. You'll be lucky to make it out of high school before some idiot knocks you up and you're stuck with some snot-nosed brat you can't even take care of because you're too braindead to figure it out," he stated.

Never before had Bonnie felt such a direct hit, beyond a punch to the gut. Her father had locked on and fired serious missiles. They blew a hole right through her and she felt like she would throw up. Her body swayed a little and she feared she might faint right in front of this monster.

He knew. It was like it had been written on her face. She was destined to be tied to some idiot. Probably destined to have this same stupid discussion with the idiot's offspring in sixteen years. Her parents had never planned for her to go to college. They never planned for her to have a future. Her father, she expected, but her mother…

The room felt like it was spinning and Bonnie stumbled as she turned, trying to find the door. Somewhere in the about-face, she spotted her mother, eyeing her with concern and something she could not place. She needed to get out of there before her mother came to her, touched her, ruined her, and turned her into her!

Bonnie took off like her ass was on fire, back out into the bracing cold, into the less-harsh real world. Some place she had a little control over her life. But, even outside felt like it was spinning. It was like the world was tilted on its axis, resting on its side, and she might actually fall off.

Her parents never had any plans for her except to turn into them. Who the hell did that? Who looked at their kids and just figured, "fuck it, they'll never amount to anything"? Bonnie did not even know how to process this.

It was not surprising she ended up at Kim's door and she threw herself on whoever opened the door. She was lucky Kim answered. Kim secured her in a tight hug and she wasted no time sobbing into her shoulder. She allowed Kim to lead her into the house.

"Bonnie, what happened?" Kim asked, hand against Bonnie's shoulders. She rubbed Bonnie's back.

"SAT… Dad… College!" Bonnie blubbered. She was not even sure what she wanted to say, not sure what made her so upset.

"It's okay. It's okay," Kim cooed and she eased Bonnie onto the sofa.

Bonnie was not even sure how they made it into the living room. Kim rubbed her back more and continued to try to assure her everything would be all right, but she knew better. Things would never be all right. Every time things looked good something happened to ruin them. She ruined everything and her life was always in shambles because from the moment she was born, her family could tell she would never amount to anything. She was destined for nothing, destined for ruin. So, she should stop building castles in the sand and getting surprised when the tide rushed in.

Before Bonnie could get herself together enough to at least speak a coherent sentence and let Kim know what was going on, they were interrupted. Suddenly, a bunch of nerf darts rained down on them. Growling, Kim turned, spotting her brothers' latest robot. It was basically a helicopter, loaded down rubber tipped darts.

"Goddamn it, can't you little monsters leave us alone for two fucking minutes!" Kim screamed. For a moment, Bonnie thought the doctors Possible might not be home, but she was proven very wrong.

"Kimmie!" twin cries of disbelief called from different parts of the house.

"Mom, Dad, come get your demon children!" Kim demanded.

"Kimmie!" Mrs. Possible charged out from the kitchen while Mr. Possible rushed out from his office.

"Why am I getting in trouble?" Kim huffed.

"You need to watch your language and don't talk about your brothers like that," her mother ordered.

Kim reeled back. "Don't talk about… Are you kidding me? I'm trying to get Bonnie to stop crying and those little jerks are shooting darts at us and giggling about it!"

"Kimmie," her mother said sharply again.

"I know your brothers can be a handful sometimes, but that doesn't mean you should say those things and you definitely shouldn't be using profanity," her father said.

Stomping her foot, Kim screamed in frustration. "Can we just go to my room, so we don't have to deal with them messing everything up?"

"You're not going up to your room. The rules are the rules," her father said.

"And we need to talk about your attitude," her mother added.

"My attitude?" Kim hollered incredulously and glared at her parents. "I'm just trying to take care of Bonnie and I'm getting in trouble? This is ridiculous!"

 _Oh, god_ , Bonnie realized. She was the cause of this. Kim arguing with her parents, screaming at them, this was her fault. Her influence. She had ruined Kim. Her stomach lurched at the idea and she jumped to her feet.

"You know, what, Kim. It's fine. I have to go anyway," Bonnie said in a hurry as she moved toward the door faster than she could have thought possible.

Kim whipped around. "What? Bonnie, no!" She reached out, catching Bonnie by the wrist.

Bonnie managed to slide her hand away. "No, it's fine. I just need to go. It's fine." It was not a total lie. She did not want her heart to explode right in front of these guys, so she needed to go curl up into a ball and die alone.

"Bonnie," Kim begged. She looked near tears herself.

"No, it's fine," Bonnie repeated and finally made it out the door. She shut it as fast as she possibly could and was thankful that Kim did not follow her. Hunching over just outside the door, she dry-heaved. There was nothing in her stomach to throw up. She wished she had just kept moving, though.

"Do you see what you did? You drove her away!" she heard Kim shout.

"Kimmie, we're not sure we like you seeing Bonnie," Mr. Possible said and Bonnie whimpered. They did hate her.

"There's been a huge change in your behavior since you've started dating her and it's not good," Mrs. Possible agreed. They confirmed it — she _had_ ruined Kim.

Bonnie did not stick around for the rest, did not need to hear the rest. She was some sort of blight on existence. _Really? After everything, you're going to believe that?_ But, she did not know what to believe. Right now, up was down, left was right, and she could very well be on the moon and not know.

"I just need to think," she mumbled.

Unfortunately, she did not know where to go. If she went to her spot, Kim would find her. If she went to the cabin, Kim would come. If she went home, she might just burn the motherfucker down. She did not have many options.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: And Cried

"Are you both completely mental?" Kim screamed at her parents. Her face so tense that she would not be surprised if the skin tore as she glared at them. How could they see Bonnie broken on the sofa and just ignore her? _What the hell is wrong with them?_

"Who do you think you're talking to, young lady?" her father demanded, glowering down at her.

"This attitude and your overall behavior since you've been dating Bonnie is grossly unacceptable," her mother said.

"How?" Kim shouted, throwing her arms up. "It's unacceptable that I want to comfort her and make sure she's all right?"

"It's unacceptable that you're swearing, threatening your brothers, screaming at us, and blatantly disregarding the rules. I can only wonder what you were doing when you were sneaking around," her mother said.

"We weren't sneaking around!" Kim actually stomped her foot because her parents were going to drive her out of her mind. "We just wanted to make sure our relationship was real."

Her mother actually rolled her eyes. "Yes, while being alone in your room and having sleepovers. You think we don't know what you were doing up there?"

Kim blinked. "What… I was doing? I was doing homework and I think my GPA proves that. I think Bonnie's GPA proves that, too!" Okay, nope, her parents were mental.

"GPAs are only proof that you're doing well in your classes. They're not proof that you're doing the right thing in your room and your behavior lately has only reinforced that," her father stated.

"Bonnie's clearly having a bad effect on you," her mother added.

Kim scowled. "How can you say that? Everything was fine until you tried to impose your million and one rules that don't make sense!"

"No, everything was fine for you because you were lying about everything," her mother pointed out. "And you didn't start lying about things until Bonnie."

"Bonnie didn't make me lie and we weren't lying!" Kim was fairly certain this would be the conversation that made her literally tear her hair out. She should not even be having this stupid discussion. She needed to go get Bonnie and make sure she was all right. "Look, none of this matters. This is stupid and I've got to make sure Bonnie's okay."

Her father reeled. "This is stupid?" Okay, maybe that was not the best way to describe it out loud, but yeah, it was stupid.

"For all we know, this is a show and you're running off with Bonnie yet again to do God only knows what," her mother accused her.

"Why do you think that? We're not out robbing banks or anything!" Kim huffed.

"But, who knows what you are doing," her mother said with a narrowed gaze, implying something that went over Kim's head.

"You could just trust me!"

"Hard to do after you lied to us for three months and your behavior has spiraled since. You stay out all day, claim you're with Bonnie, but who knows. And, even if you are with her, who knows what you're doing together."

"One lie doesn't make me a liar and it wasn't even a lie!" Okay, maybe it was and she needed to stop lying to herself about it. Even if it was, though, like she said, one lie should not make her totally untrustworthy.

"But, the company you keep and your failing track record does make it hard to trust you. Again, we don't know what you're doing and you've already proven you won't tell us just because it's the right thing to do and we have to assume that's Bonnie's influence. I thought you'd have a good effect on her, but it's been the other way around," her mother said.

"Bonnie's not a bad influence! Seriously, what the hell do you think I'm doing with her?" Kim huffed.

Her parents just looked at her, as if she were somehow proving them right. She took the moment of silence to take in their words. They thought Bonnie was a bad influence on her because of the lie… and well, they did not know where she was spending her time lately.

"Okay, look, we're just studying, like always," Kim said, not exactly a lie. She knew if she said they spent that time in a cabin in the woods all alone, then she would never be able to get out of the house. "Now, can I go see about Bonnie?" She wanted to catch Bonnie before she fell off the wagon.

"Kim, we know how tempting it is to play on the wild side, but we can't just let this happen, so no, you can't go see about Bonnie," her mother said.

"But, she was really upset! She was crying!" It broke Kim's heart just thinking about it and the last thing she wanted was for Bonnie to think no one cared about her feelings. Kim cared, damn it!

"If she needs you, then she'll come back here and you can comfort her in the living room," her father said.

"But, the tweebs!" Kim pointed upstairs.

"We'll ground them… again," her father sighed. Yeah, because that worked… not!

"But, we're not letting you go off after Bonnie, so you can come in here after curfew again with a million excuses and smelling like her," her mother said.

Kim flinched. "Smelling like her?" Oh, wow, she came back to the house smelling like Bonnie. This was news to her.

"Yes, smelling like her. So, again, we don't know exactly what you're doing with her, but Bonnie's not exactly a saint and you haven't been one either," her mother continued on.

Kim blinked, feeling really slow today. She wished her parents would just spell it out, but the implications were much clearer now. It was not just about how they did not trust her, but Bonnie's reputation. Her stomach fell.

"You guys… you don't believe all that stuff they say about her, right?" Kim could not believe her parents would buy into all of that crap after having Bonnie in the house for so long. They seemed to like her just fine before all of this.

"You used to say it all the time," her mother reminded her.

"Bonnie's changed and if you can't see that, I feel sorry for you. She's wonderful and trying and cares about me… and you. You need to see that," Kim stated.

"Hard to see it when again you lied to us for so long," her mother replied. "Besides, knowing Bonnie and seeing how you've changed, there's really one explanation for it and we're not going to help it continue."

"One explanation for it?" Kim echoed. What the hell was the one explanation?

Her parents again gave her this look, like she was supposed to just know. And then, suddenly, she did. She totally knew! Her parents thought Bonnie had her enthralled due to sex. They thought she was banging Bonnie every time they met up, or Bonnie was banging her and therefore controlling her with the power of her awesome vagina. Kim almost passed out right in front of them.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Kim goes to comfort Bonnie and Bonnie tries to set things right.


	17. Fell in Love

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

17: Fell in Love

Bonnie fell into bed well after midnight. She wondered how she made it there without waking the entire house, but she could guess. Her sisters probably were not home and her parents were probably arguing or asleep. It did not matter.

She had not been home since that afternoon. Saturday had been spent in a haze, wandering, worrying, drinking, and crying… in varying orders. The only reason she was in her bed was because she did not have anywhere else to sleep, nowhere she could turn up drunk anyway. She avoided the little cabin, not wanting to see Kim right now. She had not figured out what she would do about Kim.

She did not want to ruin Kim any more than she had. She had Kim sneaking around her parents, screaming at them, cursing in the house. None of that was Kim. Kim was sweet to the point that she made cherubs look like jerks. She did not mean to bring this new, clearly bad side out of Kim, but obviously she had.

Trying to avoid thinking about Kim and everything, Bonnie curled into her pillow. Just as her eyes were about to close, she could hear her parents. It was not the loudest they ever got. She could barely make out what her father was pissed about, but it was just enough to keep her from sleeping.

"Should've taken a shower," she grumbled. She had just wanted to fall into bed, though, and did not want to risk someone hearing her, yet here was this crap.

Now, she did not want to get up, though. As she listened to her father ranting about what-the-hell-ever, she thought about what he told her this morning. With each word he said, a picture built in her mind. She saw herself ten years from now with some faceless asshole in front of her, barking about how his dinner was not ready and how their kid was stupid and how he was stuck with her, not caring the feeling was mutual. Before she realized it, tears soaked her pillow.

How was it possible that she felt on top of the world this morning and now she felt like the world had come apart at the seams? It went from having her whole future ahead of her to lying in a fetal position wrecking of stale beer and cheap onion rings. This was the future. This was life. This was forever. And this was Hell.

Suddenly, the room was cold and Bonnie was about to pull her cover over her, but then she felt a weight on her back. With her heart in her throat, she turned to see Kim smiling at her. Now feeling like she could not breathe, Bonnie sat up and stared at Kim with the widest — and probably reddest — eyes she had.

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie hissed. Kim should not be here!

"I wanted to make sure you're okay. I went to the cliff, but you weren't there and you weren't at the cabin. I looked everywhere for you, but I couldn't find you and no one knew where you were," Kim explained in a rush. She reached out and gently took Bonnie by the wrist. With her thumb, she drew small, soothing circles on Bonnie's skin. "Thank God you're okay."

She was most certainly not okay! Her heart was in her throat and she felt like she might throw up all of that cheap beer and wine coolers from earlier. She swallowed it down, feeling it burn all the way to her soul… well, if she had a soul anyway. From the way the Possibles talked about her and the fact that her parents seemed to think she was headed nowhere in life from the beginning, maybe she did not have a soul to speak of.

"You can't be here," Bonnie growled, glowering at Kim as best she could with tears still in her eyes.

"Well, I am here. I know you're not okay, but I'm here for you," Kim insisted.

"No, no, no!" Bonnie shook her head madly. "You can't be here! You have to leave, you have to go, you can't be here!" Kim was supposed to be home, making up with her parents, and in bed like a good girl! _Hmm… maybe you are poison… or you picked a good one and she wants to take care of you_.

"Bonnie, calm down," Kim cooed and she managed to wrap Bonnie in an embrace before Bonnie even realized what was going on.

"You shouldn't be here," Bonnie mumbled into her shoulder.

"I should be wherever you are, making sure you're all right. So, please, calm down and just let it all out." Kim rubbed her back like an expert and she just cried on her.

Bonnie was not sure how much time went by with Kim caressing her back and cooing in her ear. Next thing she realized was they were lying down with Kim playing the big spoon to her. They had cuddled like this before, but never in a bed. It felt nice and for a moment Bonnie allowed this to be the future. Now, Hell was Heaven and life was good again.

Calm settled on Bonnie as she pictured Kim curled against her, stroking her back and belly after a long night. There would be no yelling or harsh words, just whispered words of endearment. There would be apologizes for Kim being out late on missions and there would be arguing for sure, but they would eventually return to each other's side and confess their affections in touches and kisses and… more. Bonnie sighed at the vision.

"Are you ready to talk about it?" Kim asked in a whisper.

Bonnie reached behind her and took one of Kim's hands. She pulled that hand and eased it just under her shirt, placing it on her stomach. Kim purred against her neck as she scratched lightly across Bonnie's belly. The skin on skin contact made her feel so much better.

"I'm messing up your life," Bonnie mumbled.

Kim scoffed. "Messing up my life, sweetheart? I think you need to step back and rethink that."

"Your parents even said so. Hell, I saw you arguing with your parents. You've probably never done that before and it was because of me."

"No, it was because my brothers are little terrors, but my parents are so worried about us probably having sex they can't get beyond that and they're not really doing anything about the tweebs."

Bonnie had to turn around at that one and stare at Kim's face. "They think we're having sex?" Of course, she would love to be having sex with Kim, but Kim was not ready and she would not force the issue. But, she hoped and dreamed.

"Yeah, they seem to think we've been having sex since you were spending time in my room and that's why they don't want us there alone. I don't know why they think we're having sex." Kim shook her head.

"Because we're hormonal teenagers." Not to mention, Bonnie was known for having slept with pretty much the whole football team. It was not a huge stretch to imagine her debasing Kim with her vast carnal knowledge… and now that that was in her head, she found she wanted to do that. _God, I'm horrible_.

Kim snickered a little. "Yeah, we are. I'm not ready for that."

"I know, sweetheart. I only want you to even think about it when you're ready." Bonnie put her hand on Kim's hip and stroked it. "No pressure for anything, okay? Ever." But, boy, when Kim was ready, Bonnie was going to literally dive right in.

Kim smiled a little. "I know." Her hand, the one under Bonnie's shirt, drummed against the small of Bonnie's back.

"I don't want to come between you and your parents."

Leaning over a little, Kim kissed Bonnie. "You're not. These are just growing pains. My parents have to understand I'm growing up. And, I hate to break it to them, but one day I am going to have sex."

The confession made Bonnie's heart jump into her throat. One day Kim would have sex. _Oh, maybe even with you!_ Bonnie hated that voice in her head.

"You said that to them?" Bonnie asked.

"I did. After I remembered how to talk anyway. I was a little surprised when I figured out they think we're having sex like all the time, apparently. It's going to happen and they can't stop it. They just have to trust me."

"Did that work?" Bonnie inquired because she did not feel like it did. How could that work?

Kim hummed for a moment. "They're considering it."

She studied Kim for a moment. "Is that enough for you?"

"For now, yeah."

Then it was enough for Bonnie. Sighing, she rested against Kim, enjoying the feel of the hero against her. Kim held her tight and it seemed like the world corrected itself a little. Not completely, but just enough. Of course her father would ruin the moment.

"Goddamn it, Staci!" Her father's voice boomed. The master bedroom was all the way down the hall, but his voice carried like thunder. "Is it too much to ask for you to cook a half decent meal when the girls aren't here? You're not cooking for them, you know? They're all grown and lucky to still even be here!"

Bonnie sighed. This was one of her dad's greatest hits, part of a larger selection about meals and her mother's attention altogether. She imagined her mother had done something awful, like requested they go out for dinner since it was just them, got denied, and then made something simple, like chili for dinner. She would see whatever it was in the garbage in the morning, as her father would have had to throw it out during his first temper tantrum.

Bonnie glanced at Kim as her father continued to rage over the fact that he had somehow had a subpar meal. Kim's face was tense with a wrinkled forehead and bent in eyebrows. Bonnie tucked in a little closer to her and hoped to hide her embarrassment.

"He always like that?" Kim asked.

"Well, at some point in time, the entire world did him wrong so…" Bonnie trailed off, not wanting to explain her father. She hated that Kim had to hear him, that anybody had to hear him really.

"It's okay." Kim leaned down and kissed her again. They were quiet for a while, just hearing her father disturb the peace. But, then Kim spoke, "You told me no more drinking."

"It was a rough day," Bonnie replied with a sigh. At one point in the day, had she been around her dumber friends, she would have done a lot more than drinking. Anything to make her forget all of the pain. "I thought I ruined everything." _Thought I ruined you_.

Kim brushed some of Bonnie's hair back. "Why? Why did you think you ruined everything?"

Bonnie sniffled as she recalled the day as best she could. Her emotions remembered more than her mind and her body definitely recollected the most. Her stomach flipped and her lungs suddenly burned for air.

"Bonnie, shhh…" Kim rubbed her back, trying to calm her down.

It was then that Bonnie realized she was actually hyperventilating. _Oh, god. I'm going to die_. Well, that might not be a bad thing. Then she would not have to live through Kim hearing her father be an ass. Hopefully, her mother would keep arguing and not cry because if her mother cried and Kim heard, Kim would go be a hero and Bonnie would run away to join the circus.

"Tell me why you think you ruin everything," Kim said in a gentle voice.

Tears fell again. "My dad… my family… no one has any faith in me. They don't think I can do anything. My sisters never fail to let me know I'm stupid and ugly and basically the worst parts of Rockwaller DNA. My mom babies me like I can't do a damn thing on my own and my father actually thinks I'm wasting my time trying to go to college. He thinks it'll take me five years to get out of high school and I'll be lucky to not be pregnant by then. They all know. I'm a waste of space."

"No," Kim cooed. "No. You're an amazing person, Bonnie. The most amazing person I've ever met."

"You're just saying that…"

"I am not and you're going to stop saying that whenever I do say it. Now, you listen to me and I'm going to tell you why you're amazing."

"Brave enough to ask you out, improving grades, blah, blah, blah—" Bonnie yelped as Kim put a finger to her lip.

"Let me tell you why." Kim's hand went from her back to her hair, combing her fingers through definitely messy and tangled brown locks. "Despite everything you've been told or led to believe, you've fought against it to prove you're better than what they thought of you. Do you know how strong you have to be to rise up when so many people are holding you down?"

Bonnie shook her head. She did not believe she rose above anything. It was all just a waste, like her father said. She was a waste.

"You should just go home," Bonnie said. Because who the hell knew what would hit the fan if someone found Kim in here?

"It'll be okay," Kim promised.

"No, someone might see you."

Kim chuckled. "Really? I can sneak into a megalomaniac's lair undetected with Ron glued to my ass, but I can't get out of here before your parents show up?" She paused for them to hear more of her father's yelling. "I think I can handle it."

Bonnie did not have the strength to argue and she felt exhausted. So, she cuddled closer to Kim and just relaxed as Kim caressed various parts of her body. She fell asleep. When she woke up in the morning, she looked like a hot mess, but she felt a little more put together.

-8-8-8-8-

Taking a deep breath, Bonnie raised her fist to knock. Mr. Possible replied faintly, probably deep in the house. He did not look impressed when he opened the door to Bonnie. His disapproving gaze made her swallow.

"Kim's not here right now," he stated, his voice actually devoid of emotion. She never would have thought it possible, but there it was.

"I know," Bonnie answered. She had been with Kim and Ron in the mall before they got called away for a mission. She decided to make good use of her free time. "I was hoping I could talk to you and Mrs. Possible."

Continuing to stare down at her with a tight look, he seemed to consider her words. "Come in." He motioned inside and stepped aside.

Steeling herself, Bonnie crossed the threshold and for some reason was surprised that she was not smote just for stepping inside. He directed her to the living room while he went off to get his wife. Bonnie sat down in the same seat she occupied when Kim came out to them, when she cried on Kim's shoulder a couple of days ago and found out the doctors Possible did, indeed, hate her. Seconds later, Mr. and Mrs. Possible sat across from her and just stared at her.

"So, you wanted to talk," Mr. Possible said.

Bonne cleared her throat. "I know I'm your least favorite person on Earth right now and I doubt anything I say will change that, but I really hate you fighting with Kim. I didn't mean to come between your family."

"Oh, really?" Mr. Possible raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Maybe you don't believe me or believe _in_ me, but I care about Kim. I care about her to the point that I care about her relationship with you both," Bonnie said.

"And yet you've encouraged her to stay out all day everyday," Mrs. Possible chimed in with a stern glare.

"I haven't encouraged it, but, no, I haven't tried to stop her either. I like spending time with Kim and we don't get much time to be alone. At school, we have to act like friends. At practice, we have to focus on cheerleading. On dates, she might run off at any second to save the world or something. I know what I signed up for, but it's still hard," Bonnie admitted. She loved Kim for who she was, but that did not stop her from feeling bad when Kim ran off or when they could only exchange a light touch or glance.

"You've got her sneaking around us," Mr. Possible accused her.

"We weren't sneaking, per se. We just… we want some space, like any couple trying to figure things out. Having limits on everything is stressful and I think Kim's just stressed out. She expected…" Bonnie sighed, not sure what to say that would not paint the Possibles as the villains. "I guess Kim just thought you'd bend the rules for me since I'd already been around here and everything seemed to be going well."

"Going well for you two because you were sneaking around, you mean," Mrs. Possible stated.

Sighing, Bonnie rubbed her face and wondered if all parents were impossible to talk to. _Maybe I've been being hard on mine. Parents in general might be irrational and crazy_. Or maybe Kim's optimism had rubbed off on her and she was now seeing what it was like to have that fall flat. _Well, if I had all of Kim's optimism, I'd think even though this plan's obviously failing, it'll somehow work out_.

"We weren't sneaking around and we're not sneaking around. I know you think we're doing all sorts of things and maybe it's because of my reputation, but our relationship's tame," Bonnie said. And it was compared to other relationships she had been in. Hell, she had barely been with Lance for a month before he talked her right out of her virginity.

"Tame?" They both scoffed and it hurt.

Bonnie swallowed down a sharp pain. "I know you don't care for me, but I respect Kim."

"Yes, that's why she used to come home and complain about you all the time," Mrs. Possible snapped.

Bonnie tensed. _Keep calm. You're here for Kim. Don't lose your cool_. Keeping her cool was easier than talking with the Possibles. It was pretty clear they no longer respected her and blamed her for all things they thought were wrong with Kim. There was nothing to talk about.

"Fine." Bonnie held up her hands in surrender. "This is all my fault. I had hoped we could actually talk this over. Just so you know, that's your daughter's fault. While you think all of my bad habits rubbed off on Kim, you should know she's had a very positive effect on me. Beyond my grades and me being excited about college, she let me know it's not wrong to hope, which is why I came here."

"So, you're trying to do good by us?" Mr. Possible scoffed. His wife rolled her eyes.

"I had hoped, but it's very clear you're not open to hearing anything from me and I doubt anything I ever say or do will be good enough. You should know, I've tried a couple of times to just leave Kim and she won't have it. I know I'm not good enough for her, but I'm trying to be. I respect her and I love her," Bonnie declared. _Oh, shit. Did you just tell Kim's parents you love her before you told her? That's not cool!_ Mentally, Bonnie slapped herself. _Yes, I did and, yes, I know it's not cool! Totally uncool. Shit_. Okay, so what was she supposed to do now?

"Love?" Mrs. Possible echoed.

"Well, I… I… I have strong feelings for Kim," Bonnie said, hoping that would cover it up. Maybe they would think she was just a crazy teenager, throwing the word around with no real idea what it meant and that way they would not mention it to Kim.

"Bonnie, you have to realize, since you came into Kim's life as a friend or whatever you are now, she's changed immensely, not for the better, and she's not taking responsibility for it. She's blaming everyone and everything for what's going on," Mrs. Possible said.

"And that's not like Kim. We all know Kim's responsible to a fault," Mr. Possible pointed out.

"I don't think Kim's changed as much as you think. I'm just an addition in her life and she's trying to make room for me," Bonnie replied. Yes, Kim had changed, probably more to her parents than anyone else, but it really seemed like it was because they were trying to control the change. But, Kim was the wind, untamable.

"An addition that doesn't seem to be doing her any good," Mr. Possible stated.

This struck Bonnie. "Not doing Kim any good? Really? So, Kim can talk about classical literature with her other friends? They'll have that talk with her?" This was one of the few things Bonnie offered that Kim could not get from any of her friends. Yeah, Monique had a high GPA and shared plenty of interests with Kim, but Monique rarely talked school subjects with Kim and Kim liked talking about school oddly enough.

"Okay, so you have discussions with Kim. You're also the cause of her cursing at her brothers," Mr. Possible said.

"I'm the cause?" Bonnie scoffed. She caught herself before she rolled her eyes. "I think the cause would be her brothers disrupting her study time." She actually thought that was the Possibles' plan. Stick her and Kim in the living room, let the tweebs run wild, and they would eventually run Bonnie off in frustration. It nearly worked.

"Oh, yes, and now we're supposed to believe she's out all day with you studying." Mrs. Possible actually rolled her eyes. Again! What the hell?

"We were studying. She helped me prepare for the SATs and now she's going to help me with the ACT. I never would've been able to do that here and she was insistent on helping me because she talked me into signing up. I understand you don't like me and you don't trust me and you think I'm a whore, but can't you trust Kim at this point? She has great faith in me," Bonnie replied.

"Whore?" Mr. Possible looked like he swallowed a bug. Before Kim cursing in the house, this was probably the closest anyone had come to swearing around him. But, he did not deny it.

"We _do_ trust Kim," Mrs. Possible said.

Bonnie nodded. "It's me you don't trust and she's always around me. There's nothing I can do to change that, is there?" Why should they trust her or have faith in her? Her own father did not. Hell, sometimes, she did not think her mother did, which was why the woman was always cooing at her like a stupid baby.

She did not wait for them to respond. Her emotions were too close to the surface and she did not want them to see. Maybe Kim was the only person who would ever give her chance, but now, she would take that and hold onto with both hands. She tried being nice and having hope. Now, she would do things her way.

Bonnie rose to her feet and turned to leave. They did not stop her. She did not care. Her father and her sisters had taught her nothing else in this life except — she could not change minds, only prove people wrong.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: With Melancholy

"You okay?" Ron asked on the ride back to Middleton. It was late and he was on a plane with Kim. He yawned and stretched. It had been a long day.

"Fine," she answered. "Why'd you ask?"

"It's just you've been staring at that wall for, like, five minutes. I thought you were trying out your heat vision or something, like you're Superman now." He threw a lopsided grin her way.

Kim snorted. "I wish I had heat vision. It definitely would've come in handy on this mission."

"You seemed a little distracted," Ron commented. This, of course, meant she was a lot of distracted because Ron noticed, possibly while running for his life as they had done a lot of that today… probably because she was distracted and could not focus on the task at hand.

Kim waved Ron off. She had spent the day thinking about Bonnie. She could save the world, but she felt like she could not save her girlfriend. Bonnie was drowning and Kim felt like she might drown swimming after Bonnie. Between her parents and Bonnie's family, it was clear Bonnie was going under.

And, really, how could Bonnie not go under? Finding out her parents had not planned out her future and her father seemed to think the worst of her would take it out of anybody. Cuddling had helped some of the healing, but Kim needed to think of something to really help.

 _Maybe I could talk to my parents again. I can explain to them how Bonnie and I aren't having sex and Bonnie's not corrupting me and… They wouldn't believe it_. Her mother had heard a lot about Bonnie, not just from her, but in general. The fact that her mother only just now thought they were going at it like rabbits and Bonnie had somehow enthralled was actually a minor miracle.

Sighing, Kim hid her face in her hands. Reaching over, Ron rubbed her shoulder. Kim just accepted.

"Whatever's bothering you, you can tell me, K.P," he reminded her.

"I know." But, she could not. She had already made a decision for two and outed her relationship and it did not end well.

Ron did not say anything else. He just rubbed her shoulder and she needed it. Maybe, like Ron, all she could do was comfort Bonnie right now.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Kim and Bonnie try to fix things.


	18. Filled with Longing

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

18: Filled with Longing

Bonnie ran her fingers through Kim's hair as Kim rested against her and in between her legs. They were holed up in their little cabin, sitting in front of the fire, which Kim started all by herself and it was incredibly sexy as always. They were possibly contemplating the meaning of life. Bonnie had come up with nothing, but Kim, as usual had had a few philosophical moments. It was really cute.

"How you can always be so optimistic is beyond me," Bonnie commented, hand wandering down to Kim's shoulder.

"I know I see a lot of bad things all over the world, but I see a lot of good, too. I mean, when I'm not facing villains or doing… I guess simple stuff… whenever I go help, there's always lines of people already trying to help. People are good for the most part, so I believe in them," Kim said, smiling. She looked up and locked eyes with Bonnie.

"You think I'm good?" Bonnie smirked. "But, I can be very, very bad." Her hand on Kim's shoulder eased into the neckline of her shirt.

There were no objections as she slid her hand up and down Kim's breast. Feeling bold, she eased her hand into Kim's bra and moaned as she felt a pebbled nipple right under her fingertips. Kim moaned right after her.

"You like this?" Bonnie breathed into Kim's ear. She sure as hell knew she liked it.

"Uh-huh…" Kim nodded.

"Me, too," Bonnie said. It was at this point Bonnie had to concede she just might be full lesbian. Her hand had never been happier than when it was full of Kim's boob. She might never let go… unless she was allowed to put her hand somewhere else.

Twisting a little, Kim shifted her position, so she could kiss Bonnie. Kim's hands lost themselves in Bonnie's hair while Bonnie's hand remained firmly in Kim's shirt, doing its best to get to know this new area. By the time they pulled away, Kim had kissed Bonnie breathless and was almost completely on top of Bonnie. Kim smiled while Bonnie panted.

"We keep this up and I think my parents might actually have cause for worry," Kim remarked.

Bonnie groaned at the thought. "Really?" her voice cracked in the middle of the word. _Yup, full on lesbian_. Just the thought of going all the way with Kim did things to her body no guy had ever done. "How are things with your parents?" she asked, managing to get her head out of the gutter if only to check on Kim's emotional wellbeing. Besides, she needed to buy time to calm herself down.

"Fine," Kim said tensely, glancing away. Not a good sign at all.

"Hey." Bonnie leaned down to give Kim a little peck and removed her hand from Kim's shirt, wanting to hold Kim's face instead. "Don't be that way. Tell me what's bothering you," she requested in a low voice, caressing Kim's cheek.

Kim let loose a long sigh. "I had hoped when you told me you went to see them, things would change. They'd see you've changed and we could start over or something. But, they just… I dunno."

"Baby, this is a lot to take in." She began to realize Kim's parents could have taken this worse than they had. Yeah, they thought Bonnie was horrible, but they had not written her off outright. They had not forbade Kim from seeing her. _There goes that stupid optimism thing_. And to think, Kim's parents believed Kim was the one enthralled.

Olive eyes rolled. "I've done crazier things. They don't flip out when I run out to fight evil."

"Evil's not sitting with you behind closed doors or at the dinner table where they sometimes can't see our hands," Bonnie chuckled.

"I'm in a relationship. So not the drama, but they're making it so much drama. I mean, I understand if you were a boy, we never would've been allowed to have sleepovers and everything, but if you were a boy we'd be able to figure out this relationship a little better without having to worry about everyone being in our business," Kim huffed.

"There'd still be people in our business, but we'd definitely be able to be a little more private," Bonnie said. She had been in enough "high profile" relationships to know what to expect, but her and Kim together would undoubtedly make all of that seem downright trivial.

Sighing, Kim glanced away for a moment. "Yeah, but it's awesome you tried to talk to my parents." A small smile graced her face for a moment.

"I don't want you to be miserable and I know breaking up isn't an option."

" _Ever_ ," Kim said plainly.

Bonnie laughed and planted another kiss on her lips. "I agree, no breaking up ever. But, I want to do something so your parents can get over this, get over us. I mean, they think I'm the worst thing to happen to you."

"Maybe we could talk to them together."

"Because that worked so well before?" Bonnie quipped. She could feel the humiliation already.

"Well, to be fair, I did most of the talking," Kim teased.

"Yeah, you did. I wasn't ready."

"I know and I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have pushed you to come out when you weren't ready."

Bonnie shook her head. "Don't be sorry. You wanted to tell them and you told them. I didn't mind. I was just… really nervous and not ready. But, I'm ready to sit down and talk with them if you think it'll help."

Kim grinned and twisted around all the way, tackling Bonnie while she was at it. They laughed as Bonnie fell over, but then Kim's mouth was on Bonnie's and there was nothing to laugh at. Tongues touched, hands wandered, and Bonnie did her best not to buck against Kim. Honestly, her very best! Her hips had a mind of their own, though!

Kim pulled away slightly, her face flushed. "Bonnie," she panted. "You have to stop."

Bonnie was in a haze. "Stop?" What did she need to stop? Her hands were only one Kim's back, not even in her shirt.

"Stop…" Kim grunted and it sounded magically. "That."

Bonnie's forehead wrinkled and then she realized what she was doing. She was grinding against Kim. A yelp escaped her and she immediately halted her movements. A blush burned her entire face. _Oh, god. She's going to think I'm sex-starved or something_.

"I'm so sorry," Bonnie said, turning her head to hide as best she could with Kim parked on top of her.

"Hey…" Kim put her hand to Bonnie's cheek, trying to get her to turn her head. "Come on, look at me."

Sighing, Bonnie turned. She could feel a blush burning her cheeks as she somehow looked into those deep olive eyes. "I'm sorry. I know you're not ready."

"I'm not, but trust me, it's not horrible to know you want me." Kim laughed. "I kinda get what's so great about knowing a pretty girl likes you."

Bonnie laughed. "You're silly."

"Only with you."

Bonnie sighed contently. "You can be as silly as you like with me."

"I know I can, which is why I am. I can relax with you."

"I know."

Kim stared at her with shining eyes. "But, I really appreciate that. It's nice to just… chillax."

Bonnie laughed. "Okay, you're not allowed to say chillax. You can say a lot of things, but not chillax. In fact, you can't say chill or chillax. You sound weird."

"I do not!"

"Do so!"

Instead of arguing, Kim showed her evil side and tickled Bonnie. Bonnie let loose a roar of laughter and tried to wiggle away. Of course it was impossible. In the end, Kim made her apologize for "being rude."

-8-8-8-8-

For the second time in a week, Bonnie found herself at the Possible door, needing to speak with Kim's parents. This time, Kim was with her, though. Hopefully, it would make a difference.

"Mom? Dad?" Kim called. She had already spoken to them on the phone before she and Bonnie decided to be stupid. The Possible parents knew this was coming.

"Kitchen," Mrs. Possible answered.

"Am I allowed in the kitchen?" Bonnie asked seriously. With the rules, discovering the Possibles did not like her, and also thought she was negative influence on Kim, she was not sure where she stood in the house anymore.

"You're going there today," Kim said, taking her by the hand.

Bonnie did not argue that one. They marched through the house right to the kitchen. Kim's parents were at the nook, exchanging worried looks. Bonnie gave Kim a worried look of her own, but Kim just charged forward, as she had a habit of doing. She sat down on the opposite end of the nook and then motioned for Bonnie to join her. Bonnie obliged.

"So…" Kim took a deep breath. "Take two?" An awkward smile tugged at just half of her face. She looked like her face had a muscle spasm, but thankfully it did not last long.

"We're not letting you two be alone in your room," Mrs. Possible stated.

"Especially considering your behavior lately," Mr. Possible added.

Kim frowned and Bonnie could see this was about to go off the rails already. She knew Kim did not think it was fair that she was getting blamed and accused of things that had not happened. But, barking about that would not help that rosy outcome she wanted. So, Bonnie squeezed Kim's hand and hoped she took it as a signal to calm down. Almost instantly, Kim's face fixed itself and she blew out a long sigh, making her bangs fly up.

"My 'behavior lately' is still because I want to be with my girlfriend and I have very limited chances to do so," Kim said in a calm tone, but it was clear she was already upset.

"You've been sneaking out," Mr. Possible hissed. Bonnie was a little impressed that he noticed.

Kim shrugged, like it was no big deal. "Well, my girlfriend gets upset and I want to make sure she's okay. I can't do that here because the only place she's allowed is a public area and the public has attention issues," she remarked.

"Don't try to pin this on your brothers," her father said.

"I'm not trying to pin anything anywhere. I'm just saying my options are limited and I'm using the best ones available to me. I don't know what you guys expect me to do. Bonnie comes in bawling about something that was actually important and then she flees the house. I was supposed to stay behind?" Kim arched an eyebrow. "Like seriously? If one of you were upset and ran out of some place, the other should stick around?"

"Don't compare your relationship to ours," her mother hissed.

"And why not? Is my relationship less real than yours?" Kim asked and that shocked Bonnie. Was that the message Kim got from her parents, even if they had not outright said it?

"We didn't say that," Mrs. Possible quickly denied.

"No, you didn't say it, but for God sake, you won't even let Bonnie stay for dinner anymore. If I'm talking to her on the phone, you both suddenly need me to do stuff, like that time isn't important, like Bonnie isn't important. And maybe she's not important to you, but she's important to me," Kim declared, pointing to herself with her free hand.

"Kim, we just don't think Bonnie's a good influence on you," Mr. Possible said.

Kim scoffed. "Really? Because we all seemed fine and dandy when she was my friend. No one thought she was a bad influence then. I'm really disappointed in you guys," she stated.

To Bonnie, this was funny. She had heard a parent say this to a child more times than she could count, as it was one of her father's favorite phrases with Lonnie. She had never heard a child say it to a parent, though. Oddly enough, Kim's parents actually looked ashamed. They squirmed and glanced away, like scolded children themselves.

"Kimmie," her father started, but Kim shook her head.

"No, no, no. Because we're all sitting here full of excuses, but I know the difference is you're the adults, therefore right. You're going to sit here and act like it's all me and Bonnie and I'm going to basically say it's all you and the tweebs. But, if this is the game we're going to play, nothing's going to change. You're going to swear up and down I've become this horrible person because of Bonnie and I'm going to start to assume you're either homophobic or can't accept the fact that I'm growing up," Kim said.

"This has nothing to do with Bonnie being a girl," Mrs. Possible said.

"Okay, then I'll just go on assuming the latter instead of the former, but it's not making anything better. All it does show instead of pointless hatred, you guys don't trust me and you don't believe Bonnie can change," Kim pointed out.

The doctors frowned a little and Kim only mirrored the expression. This looked like it could turn into a serious fight with all cards being laid out on the table and maybe they needed that. But, Bonnie really did not want to see where things could go after that. While she doubted this would turn into one of her family arguments, she did not want to take that chance.

"Might I jump in?" Bonnie asked, even raising her hand a little, like she truly needed permission. She spoke regardless. "I know this is very close to being none of my business, but I'm involved anyway, so I'd say, shouldn't you guys be working on a compromise of some kind? You don't want Kim's behavior continuing on and she wants some kind of sign that her relationship isn't trivial to you. If everybody just sits here not moving, well… then we're not gonna move." She shrugged uncomfortably as the Possibles stared at her.

Sighing, Kim leaned forward. "Look, I know you're both worried about me growing up too fast or whatever and you think Bonnie's controlling me, but it's nothing like that. I'm just… growing up." She gave a lame shrug as well and Bonnie felt like they were not making much of a dent with the parents.

"I respect Kim," Bonnie insisted, but again the doctors did not seem moved. In fact, she recalled they thought the worst of her, so they undoubtedly thought she was lying. Part of her wanted to tell them she was flattered they thought her sex game was so on point that it could control the untamable Kim, but that would not help.

"And she's so much more than things you've heard. You both know this. You saw," Kim added. Still, they did not look impressed.

"Something has to give," Bonnie pointed out. They could not continue on like this and keep their happy family. She knew the Possibles could not be stubborn enough to wreck their house. Rockwallers were the idiots who cut off their noses to spite their faces.

Mrs. Possible sighed. "You've changed, Kimmie."

"I know I have. I have a girlfriend, for crying out loud, Mom. A girlfriend I really care about and she really cares about me. This is totally new territory for all of us. Look, I don't want to sneak out or stay out all day or anything like that, but I want to spend time with Bonnie. I like being around her. I like how she makes me feel when I'm around her. We're not doing anything risqué," Kim said.

Bonnie almost laughed. Her hands in Kim's shirt begged to differ. But, then of course, they were not doing what Kim's parents thought they were doing. Hopefully, one day that would change, but for now, they were pretty PG-13.

"Maybe we can let you in your room," Mrs. Possible conceded, earning a sharp look from her husband.

"Really?" he huffed.

"We all know no matter, the twins are going to wreck havoc on the living room. It's why we don't work in there. Grounding them just gives them time to work on new robots and probes and whatever else they can use to explore around the house without leaving their room, even when we take everything out of the room that's not bolted down. We have to trust, Kim," Mrs. Possible argued.

"Yeah! Trust me." Kim grinned and pointed to herself again. "I'm good enough to save the world before curfew, but not trustworthy enough to have my girlfriend in my room?"

"Door open," he said.

"Okay, door open. If the boys make their way through that door, I reserve the right to get rid of them, though," Kim argued.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen, Kimmie," Mrs. Possible said.

Kim laughed and shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to try." Then, she glanced at Bonnie. "Um… Can Bonnie stay for dinner again? I mean, I don't even get why the seven o'clock rule got imposed."

"We'd decided when you started dated we wanted to make sure any suitors left the house at a decent hour," Mr. Possible explained.

"But, not friends?" Kim arched an eyebrow. This did not make much sense to Bonnie either. Maybe a person had to be a parent to get it.

"A friend isn't likely to try something slick like a suitor," Mrs. Possible remarked.

Kim and Bonnie could not deny that one. Bonnie had not tried much as a friend, but as a "suitor" ( _and, God, is it 1930 and no one told me?_ ) she had tried plenty. So, maybe they were right to push her out of the door at seven.

"Bonnie can stay for dinner again, but she has to go home. There won't be any more sleepovers," Mrs. Possible said, wagging her finger at them.

"We figured, but I need you to know we didn't do anything during the sleepovers," Kim replied.

"And curfew's still ten, date or not," Mr. Possible stated.

"Figured that, too," Kim conceded. If Kim could not get a curfew extension to save the world, then it had to be damn near impossible to get one.

"We can talk more once we see better behavior," Mrs. Possible said.

"Okay," Kim agreed and then she turned to Bonnie. "Good?"

Bonnie was a little surprised that she was asked. This was really Kim's thing with her parents, but again, Bonnie was involved. So, Kim wanted to make sure this was all good with her. _She's so thoughtful. One of the many reasons I love her_.

"Yeah," Bonnie agreed.

"Okay, so then we're going to go up to my room," Kim said.

"And leave the door open," Bonnie added.

The two teens practically ran upstairs and Bonnie actually fell into Kim's bed. She sighed as soon as the familiar feel and scent of Kim surrounded her. Kim laughed and pulled up to her desk.

"You enjoying that?" Kim asked.

"I missed your bed a lot," Bonnie answered honestly. "I wish I could do what you do and just snuggle up behind you one night." _Oh, god_. The very idea would now haunt her and she would add it to her list of growing fantasies.

Kim scoffed. "I'm not the little spoon around here," she laughed.

"Yet," Bonnie teased. Kim had sneaked into her room twice more after that first time and cuddled her until she fell asleep. She had done it after calling Bonnie at night and hearing the arguing in the background. Bonnie was embarrassed her home was that noisy, but it was nice to have Kim there, even though she was used to the screaming.

Kim chuckled a little. "That went well."

"It did." Better than she expected. Of course, she knew she still had a "black hole" speech coming from Mr. Possible now that it seemed like they were moving forward. Kim warned her about it and she dared to think he might not be all smoke and bluster with her like he might have been with some boy.

Kim looked at her for a long moment. "Want to tempt fate?"

"And do what?"

"Tell Ron about us," Kim replied.

Bonnie had expected this to come up sooner or later. "As long as he doesn't say anything." She had no problem with telling Ron. He seemed to like her well enough. She doubted he would scream it was a trick to their faces. Hopefully, he would not think she had Kim enthralled.

"Spanking." Kim actually gave her a thumbs' up.

"You're such a dork," Bonnie laughed.

-8-8-8-8-

Ideally, they would have told Ron in Bueno Nacho, but a lot of their classmates frequented the place and they did not want to risk being overheard. They got some food to go and had a "club meeting" in Kim's room. _Once upon a time, I'd have dubbed this the Loser Club and here I am right in the middle of it, loving every second of it_.

"So, what's up?" Ron asked as he dropped to the floor by Kim's desk. Bonnie got the idea it was "his spot," even though she had never been over with Ron before. Rufus hopped on his shoulder, focused on the bag with the food.

Bonnie and Kim chose to sit on the foot of Kim's bed. They looked at each other, silently trying to decide who would say it. Bonnie stared harder and nodded. He was Kim's best friend, so Kim should be the one to tell him.

"Okay, Ron, before you bite into a taco, we have to tell you something," Kim said.

"Make it quick! I can't hold him off!" Ron had a hold of Rufus, who was about to swan dive into the takeout bag.

"Well, Ron, you see… Bonnie and I… We're…" Kim motioned to them, but she was blushing so much that Bonnie decided to have mercy on her.

"We're dating, Stoppable. You got a problem with that?" Bonnie asked bluntly, taking Kim's hand into her own.

Ron choked on air. "Dating?" he somehow managed to get that out. Rufus echoed it in the same tone. It was possible the two shared a brain… but, then again, Rufus was way smarter than Ron as far as Bonnie was concerned.

"Yeah, dating," Bonnie repeated. She eyed him, daring him to say something offensive.

"Like 'going out' dating?" Ron asked.

"What other kind of dating is there? We're girlfriends," Bonnie replied.

Ron's whole face scrunched up as he tried to piece this together. "Like… girls who are friends or…?"

"Oh, for the love of God!" Bonnie grabbed Kim and pulled her into a full kiss on the mouth in front of Ron. Of course, Kim was not amused, but Ron was speechless and totally caught up now.

"When did this happen?" he managed to yell, throwing his arms up.

"About five months ago," Kim answered with a shrug.

"Five months? Wait, is that what all the hand-holding has been about?" His mouth practically hit him lap.

Kim's forehead scrunched up. "You never thought anything of it?"

He waved his hands around like a crazy man. "You're girls! I thought that's what girls do!"

"I never hold hands with Monique," Kim pointed out.

His face sobered and he rubbed his chin with one hand. "No, that's true. I guess this makes sense."

"Are you okay with this?" Kim moved her hand between her and Bonnie.

Staring at them, Ron scratched his chin. "Are you happy?"

"Yes," Kim answered.

"Bonnie?" Ron said.

"Huh?" she asked, wondering why he was addressing her.

"Are you happy?" he inquired, his brown eyes locked on her hard.

"Oh, yes!" she squeaked, which was embarrassing. She almost giggled, though. Happy did not even cover what she was.

"Then, that's what matters. This hasn't come between us hanging out and I'm going to assume it won't, so s'cool," he commented with a shrug. And apparently it was that easy with Ron. "You tell anybody else?" he asked as he finally went into his takeout bag and, of course, discovered Rufus had always devoured two tacos. See, it was obvious Rufus was the superior intellect there.

"Just you and my parents. We don't want a bunch of people to know because we don't want to put up with a bunch of questions and rumors and judgments. So, don't tell anyone," Kim instructed him.

Ron nodded. "You gonna tell Monique?"

Now, that would not go as easy. Monique was still openly hostile toward Bonnie, waiting for her to spring some trap on Kim. Bonnie did not want Monique to know or she would just drip more poison in Kim's ear.

"Eventually," Kim wisely responded.

Ron shrugged and accepted that. Kim smiled at Bonnie and squeezed her hand. Bonnie smiled back.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: And a Touch of Fear

Kim went to bed for the first time in what felt like forever feeling like it was a good day. Sure, her father had given Bonnie that stupid black hole speech when she was on her way home, but Bonnie took it like a champ, a respectful champ, calling her father "sir" in every response. At the end, her father actually seemed a little lost, like he expected Bonnie to put up a fight. She was not sure why.

She had called Bonnie that night just to make sure everything was good and she did not hear any noise in the background. Bonnie did not like to talk about her parents, or her family in general, so Kim was not sure if Bonnie's parents yelled at everyone like that or if it was just each other. Either way, Kim did not like it, but it seemed fine for tonight.

She and Bonnie spoke about pretty much everything and nothing at all for about an hour. They planned out a new cheer routine, discussed a competition coming up, and tried to figure out their next date. In the end, it had been really nothing, but for some reason, Kim was worked up.

Her body hummed with energy and really it was her own fault. While she had been on the phone with Bonnie, all she could think about was Bonnie lying beside her, wrapped in her arms, curled into her like she was the safest place in the world. She wanted to be the safest place in the world for Bonnie, but there was more than that.

She had allowed Bonnie's voice to wash over her and she thought about the feel of Bonnie in her arms. She thought about the press of Bonnie's breast against her own and then she remembered Bonnie bucking against her at the cabin. She groaned at the memory.

"Damn it," she groaned, gritting her teeth together. She shifted onto her side, hoping she could just fall asleep.

Once upon a time, Kim did not worry about this overwhelming sensation to touch herself. She used to keep busy enough to where, those kind of urges only came over her rarely, typically because she fell asleep immediately when her head hit the pillow. Since she started dating Bonnie, though, the urge had been much more frequent. Now, it was not just an urge, but almost a demand.

She did not want to do it, though. It was not that she was ashamed of touching herself. No, when her mother had "the talk" with her several years ago, she made sure Kim was not ashamed of any of the biological drives of her body or ashamed of her body. Kim did not want to do it because she felt like she lied to Bonnie if she did.

She kept telling Bonnie she was not ready for sex, which she really was not, but apparently she was okay with masturbating to the thought of Bonnie. She was fairly certain Bonnie touched herself while thinking about Kim, but it felt wrong to do just because Bonnie was doing. She felt guilty denying Bonnie, knowing Bonnie wanted to take care of this need, and then do it herself.

Kim groaned again. "I feel like I'm thinking too hard on this."

But, at the same time, she felt like she was not thinking hard enough on it. Why was she not ready for Bonnie? She clearly ached for her.

"Yeah, but I don't want Bonnie to think this all about sex. I don't want this to end up like her other relationships or whatever. I want her, everything with her…" Kim sighed and scratched her forehead because she knew it was more than that. It had been on her mind since long before her parents showed they knew of Bonnie's reputation and thought they were doing it.

What if she could not please Bonnie? The very idea made her stomach flip and Kim felt nervous for the first time in a long time. Bonnie had a lot of sexual partners. Surely some were better than others and surely others were better than most. Kim doubted she would be able to make either list. What if she could not deliver whatever Bonnie expected, whatever the fantasy was in Bonnie's head? What then?

The fear quieted her body, but Kim groaned again anyway. Sex was an important part of a relationship… or so she had been led to believe. If she was bad at it, would Bonnie eventually leave her for someone better at it?

"No, Bonnie wouldn't do that. She's willing to stay with me all this time and we haven't had sex. Why would she leave me when we do just because I'm not good at it? She knows it would be my first time," Kim reminded herself.

Still, she did not feel any better. Things were going well in their relationship, so she felt like she should focus on that. Her parents were trying. Ron now knew about them and was totally cool with it. Things were going well. Bonnie would not leave her when things got better. She would not.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Kim tempts fate and tells Monique.


	19. Grey Clouds

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

19: Grey Clouds

Kim being the eternal optimist decided that since things went so well with Ron, they should tell Monique. Bonnie tried to talk her out of it. Many times. She failed. Eventually, she just thought it was best to get out of the way. She would rather do it now before their six-month anniversary. She wanted that time to at least be untainted.

Telling Monique was worse than Bonnie expected. She knew there would be dirt thrown in her general direction, but the insults hurled at Kim were shocking. Bonnie watched Kim's heart break right in front of her and she disliked it. Monique got a few choice words from Bonnie before Monique wisely stormed out of Kim's room, the designated meeting place apparently, and Kim broke down.

"Shh, it's okay," Bonnie said, holding Kim as she actually cried into Bonnie's shoulder.

Monique had made the unflappable, anything-is-possible, savior of the world, and facer of maniacs cry. Bonnie doubted Monique knew she had this power, but that did not make it any better. While she did not have any real friends like Kim — all of her friends were based on her popularity — she knew friends were not supposed to purposely destroy each other. Basically, Monique had done what she accused Bonnie of trying to do.

Kim did not respond to Bonnie reassurance beyond holding onto her tighter. Bonnie rubbed her back and just cooed in her ear, promising it would be all right. Mrs. Possible poked her head in the room, undoubtedly drawn because of all of the noise and the fact that Monique had stormed out less than a minute ago. Her eyes went wide when she caught sight of the scene and Bonnie waved her off, hoping she would go away. Kim would not want her mother to see her going through a crisis. Kim was supposed to be strong, after all.

Thankfully, Mrs. Possible knew that. She cast Bonnie a simple look and then turned right around like nothing happened. Sighing, Bonnie kissed the side of Kim's head. It did not seem to help.

"She was just angry. It'll be okay," Bonnie vowed. Of course, she might not be able to help herself from starting rumors about Monique when they went back to school on Monday, but whatever. She was not a saint and Monique had hurt Kim.

Huffing, Kim pulled back. "She doesn't have a right to be angry! Who does she think she is! She can't… she can't… she can't…" And she went back to bawling.

Bonnie hated seeing Kim like this and she did not know how to fix it. She could not go back in time, after all. She could not force Monique to take back her hurtful words. Added to that, she now had to hope Monique was not enough of an asshole to out them at school. So much for having trust in people.

"It'll be all right," Bonnie whispered, giving Kim's temple another kiss.

Kim basically wept until her Kimmuncator went off. Bonnie was not surprised Kim ran off, barely utterly a goodbye in Bonnie's general direction. A mission would be a good distraction. Well, with luck, Kim would not be distracted by this Monique nonsense. If Kim got physically hurt, Bonnie would never forgive Monique.

"I probably should leave," Bonnie said to herself, gathering her things from Kim's room.

Shouldering her book bag, Bonnie marched downstairs and was not surprised to see the doctors Possible on the living room. Speaking in low tones, they almost did not notice Bonnie, which would have been fine by her. There was this tension between them that Bonnie did not want to deal with. She was only sixteen for crying out loud! She did not need all of this stress in her life. But, she was in for more stress.

"Bonnie," Mrs. Possible said, getting up and approaching her. She rubbed her palms together and sighed a little. "What happened?"

Bonnie shrugged. "Kim likes to tempt fate." Sometimes it worked and sometimes… well, best friends ran off screaming about other friends being idiots.

"But, is everything… all right?" Mrs. Possible asked, eyes glistening a little. She swallowed and her face was so tense Bonnie could see her throat move. Maybe seeing Kim cry had spooked her.

"I think they will be. She and Monique will probably work it out." Or she was lying. She was not sure.

"You told Monique about your… relationship?" Mr. Possible guessed, going to stand by his wife.

"Yeah," Bonnie said, managing to hold in a frown. Why did he say "relationship" like that?

"So, that's what all of the yelling was about?" Mr. Possible asked, glancing up at the ceiling where there had been plenty of yelling about twenty minutes ago.

Bonnie shrugged. "Mostly." Most of it was about the relationship and then some of it was about Bonnie as a person and more attacks on Kim's intelligence than Bonnie liked.

"And you really think they'll be fine?" Mrs. Possible asked, her eyes searching Bonnie's face.

There was another shrug. "They're best friends." Well, something like best friends. Ron was a true best friend, but more in the BFF sense while Monique was like a best gal pal or something. Either way, there was probably a huge chance they would work this out… maybe. Bonnie might never forgive Monique, but she was not the big-hearted Kim Possible.

"Um… was Kim okay?" Mrs. Possible asked, her voice hitched a little.

"Uh…" Bonnie doubted she would say okay. Sure, Kim had pulled it together enough to run out of there for a mission, but that was just a strong facade.

Mrs. Possible nodded, as if she understood. "Thank you for being there for her…"

This draw a small, but sad smile from Bonnie. "There's no other place I'd rather be." She wanted to support Kim through everything, all the bad and all the good. It was just, not too many people seem to appreciate her in that role, and she suspected one day, this love she felt for Kim would bite her in the ass, but she could not let go.

The Possibles only nodded and Bonnie was finally able to get out of there. She did not see Kim for the rest of the day. She texted her a couple of times, but Kim's responses lacked any effort. Hell, one response was just a confusing emoji. She called Kim before bed, just wanting to check on her more than texting allowed.

"Hey, sweetheart," Bonnie said when Kim answered.

"Hi," Kim sort of grumbled. Clearly she was still bothered.

Bonnie decided to lead in with something easy, hoping to draw Kim in for a real conversation. "How was your day?"

"Eh, the usual. Saving the world, getting called an idiot by a friend, and, you know, stuff." Kim sounded like she needed a hug so badly. Monique had done so much more than called her an idiot.

"I'm sorry, baby." Never before had she wished she could do what Kim did, just so she could sneak into Kim's room and cuddle her. Cuddling might not cure everything, but it certainly made things better for a while.

Kim sniffled. "Nah, it's okay. I don't care. I mean, I was sick of hearing Mo talk about you anyway, you know?"

"I know that can't be easy." Bonnie put up with something similar from her own friends, but she did not spend as much time with them as Kim did with Monique. Besides that, she was never under the impression her friends were good people who would stick by her no matter what while Kim had that faith in Monique. It had to hurt to be proven so wrong.

"I should consider myself lucky…" Kim mumbled.

"Sweetheart, I know you're hurt right now—"

Kim scoffed. "I'm fine," she insisted a little too strongly. "I just saved the damn world from mind control shampoo, that's how freaking fine I am!"

 _Mind control shampoo? That's sort of par for the course for Kim. Let's focus on her and helping her feel better than contemplating mind control shampoo_. "Kim, you can be honest about your feelings to me," Bonnie reminded her girlfriend. Of course, Kim might need to be honest about her feelings to herself first.

"I am being honest! I don't need a friend like her!" Kim huffed.

"I know," Bonnie pretty much cooed. She wanted to soothe Kim as much as she could.

"I hated having to listen to her call you a snake and a bitch and so many horrible names and even though I defended you, I just wanted to scream at her to stop talking about my girlfriend like that. But, I guess that wouldn't have mattered, anyway." She let loose a low, disappointed, pained groan.

No, probably not. Monique had gone off when she learned they were girlfriends. Bonnie was unfazed because she really did not care what Monique thought of her anymore, but Kim… poor trusting Kim. She probably expected the vitriol to a degree, but not as far as Monique took it.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie said. "I wish…" She was not sure what she could say.

"I'm better off," Kim insisted.

"Is this what you want to believe?" Bonnie asked.

"It's the truth."

Bonnie sighed. Kim was going to hold onto that denial for a while, she supposed. Maybe it was all right. It would help her cope. It was better than Kim thinking everything went fine. It was just… heartbreaking Kim needed to do this, though.

Bonnie stayed with her on the phone for about an hour, mostly talking about nothing. It seemed like what Kim needed, just to ramble on. Bonnie let her.

When the phone call ended, Bonnie settled against her pillow ready to sleep. She was not sure how much time had past, but she heard the window open and turned to see Kim easing herself into bed. Bonnie just opened her arms to Kim, who snuggled into her.

Bonnie did not say anything. She just held Kim and that seemed like all she needed. Kim buried her face in Bonnie's neck and Bonnie stroked her hair. She did not bother to point out Kim was supposed to stop sneaking out. Instead, she whispered assurances, placed tiny kisses to Kim's head, and did her best to comfort Kim.

At some point, she thought she heard her door shut, which was weird. Her door was already shut. She turned to look and everything looked fine. She turned back to Kim and noticed the hero had fallen asleep. Well, that was not good.

Instead of waking her up immediately, Bonnie let Kim sleep for a while. She probably needed it, just to give her body a rest from all of the emotional turmoil she was going through. So, Bonnie let her sleep and occupied her time with running her fingers through Kim's hair, playing with Kim's fingers slightly, and making sure Kim's bare arms did not have any bruises. After all, sometimes, those missions were tougher than Kim made them out to be.

For a while, Bonnie allowed this to become a fantasy. They were at their own home, lying in their own bed. There was nothing outside these walls that could hurt or control them. They had made it through everything the world could throw at them and they were still standing.

"We'll be all right," Bonnie said to her sleeping girlfriend, but also to assure herself. They had already been through a lot. They would not stop now.

Bonnie turned her attention back to Kim, wanting to take in her features while she rested. She was not surprised Kim looked cute in her sleep. Her slightly chubby cheeks seemed like a little kid's right now and then she had a little smile on her face. Bonnie was tempted to take a picture to remember the moment, but she doubted she could ever forget it.

"No matter what happens, I'll be here and love you just the same," Bonnie promised in a whisper, brushing Kim's hair from her face.

In the end, Kim woke up on her own and slipped out after giving Bonnie a kiss goodbye. It was almost four in the morning. Thankfully, they did not have school tomorrow.

The next day, Bonnie imagined Kim was a mess. She did not know because Kim took a mission before they even got to see each other. They texted throughout the day, but Kim's texts still seemed flat. Bonnie's stomach twisted as she had to spend the day hoping Kim was not distracted, so she did not make any mistakes and end up hurt.

-8-8-8-8-

So, sitting in Kim's room, trying to do their homework proved something needed to be done. Bonnie watched Kim work and could tell she was not really working at all. She was mostly trying to will her Kimmunicator to go off by glancing at it every five seconds. It did not work. Eventually, Kim just gave up, dropping her pen and turning away from her books.

"I forgot I need to go do something," Kim groaned.

"Baby," Bonnie cooed, reaching over to pat Kim's knee.

"No, seriously. There's something I need to go do," Kim insisted. It was not a lie per se. Bonnie was learning Kim dealt with emotional stress by moving.

"Fine. You tell me what it is and I'll let you do it," Bonnie called her bluff.

Frowning, Kim stared at her. "I don't need your permission to go do stuff."

"No, you don't, but when you lie to me to get out of sharing space with me, it's a different matter," Bonnie pointed out.

Kim's frown deepened and now she glared. "You think I'm lying?"

"I think you're avoiding," Bonnie said.

"I don't have to avoid. Now, I've got something to do." Kim rushed out before Bonnie could say anything.

Bonnie huffed and hid her face behind her hand for a moment. Looking over her books, she figured she should finish her homework. This was the only place she could work and get everything done. If Kim was not back by then, she would step in and do something about this.

Before she got too far into her work, she could hear footsteps approaching. She knew it was not Kim because no one ever heard Kim coming. She was not surprised when Mrs. Possible's head poked up from the staircase. For a moment, she expected to be kicked out since Kim was gone, but from the worried lines under Mrs. Possible's eyes, that probably was not going to happen.

"What's wrong with Kim? She's been in a mood for days now," Mrs. Possible pointed out.

Bonnie shook her head. "I'll handle it." She was not sure how, but she would handle it. Something had to be done because Kim had definitely been "in a mood" and it was not helping anyone.

Mrs. Possible offered her a small smile. "Is this still about Monique?"

Bonnie only nodded. Mrs. Possible sighed, shaking her head, and then turned to head back down the stairs. But, then suddenly, she stopped and looked at Bonnie again.

"Bonnie…" She started and then stopped.

"You don't have to thank me again." Bonnie did not want to hear it. Besides, she was not entirely sure she wanted to talk to either of the doctors Possible beyond their uncomfortable, tense exchanges.

"No, but I'm glad you're here for Kim."

Bonnie snorted. "I'm the reason this happened." Just like she was the reason for the rift between Kim and her parents.

"You shouldn't blame yourself for someone's reaction to you and Kim."

 _Oh, please_. "I know."

"Still, it's good you're there for Kim. Hopefully, she and Monique will make up soon."

"I'll handle it."

Mrs. Possible nodded and finally left. Bonnie sighed, hoping she did not have to exchange pleasantries with the Possibles anytime soon. It was taxing.

"I'm too young for all of this goddamn stress," Bonnie muttered.

Bonnie decided to just take care of this crap right now. She packed up her stuff and left the house. She marched all the way to Monique's house, which was a nice long walk that only allowed her to simmer in her anger more and she cursed Monique out in her head. Once she got to the house, it took all of her willpower not to bang on the door like she was the police. Managing some control, she was happy Monique answered because she was not sure she was capable of polite speech right now.

"What do you want?" Monique sneered.

"Why don't you step out here and we can talk about it," Bonnie suggested in a forceful tone. She did not want to chance someone in the house hearing and disturbing them.

Monique stepped out, shoulders squared, like she expected to tangle. "What do you want?" she repeated in a deliberate tone.

"What the hell are you hoping to accomplish fighting with Kim like this?" Bonnie huffed, staring Monique down.

Monique folded her arms across her chest. "I could ask you the same thing, except with playing Kim like this."

Bonnie snorted. "Do you even know how ridiculous you sound? What the hell could I be playing at with Kim? I make her fall for me and what?"

"Break up with her, break her heart! Leave her devastated like other jerks have!" Monique pointed out. "And then make fun of her every chance you get like you always do."

"And risk my entire everything with that bullshit? Listen to yourself. You sound fucking stupid. I make Kim fall for me, I break up with her, and then risk Kim telling every fucking person who will listen what we did. How does that help me? I get to listen to everyone saying I'm a dyke. You think I want that? What the fuck is wrong with you?" Bonnie glared at this obvious idiot. One of the reasons she wanted to keep the relationship a secret was because she absolutely did not want to be accused of being a "dyke."

Monique snorted and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you've planned for that."

"You're giving me a lot of credit where most people don't think I'm smart enough to figure out how to get out of the gym without following the crowd," Bonnie commented.

"I know you're not as dumb as you look."

Bonnie arched an eyebrow. "Oh, but I am dumb enough to enter into a lesbian relationship with Kim, who can then go around and tell everyone in school I'm a lesbian? Not to mention, let her tell her friends about it, so she'll have witnesses and they can tell the whole goddamn school?" This plan would sound stupid to Lonnie and Lonnie still had to be told not to look directly at the sun.

Monique gave her a little head movement. "You're so arrogant, you probably think you can overcome that."

Scoffing, Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Okay, let's say I have that sort of soaring arrogance where I think I can overcome the stigma of being a dyke, but even if that's the case, is being right worth your friendship with Kim?" Because really that was the point of this whole thing. No matter what, at the end of the day, Kim valued Monique as a friend and needed to make up with her.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Monique demanded, glaring at Bonnie even harder than before.

"Which one of us is Kim not trying to deal with right now? Who's she avoiding at school?" Bonnie pointed out. Kim made it a point to leave any and all places Monique shared with her. Kim also refused to look in Monique's direction and if someone said Monique's name, Kim pretended not to hear.

Monique hesitated for just a moment. "She's just upset."

"Of course she's upset, you idiot!" Bonnie threw up her hands. "Her best friend called her a fool for having feelings and following through on those feelings. You told her she was an idiot for having feelings for me and giving me a chance. Maybe you don't remember everything you said because you were pretty upset, but you called Kim damn near every name in the book." 

"It wasn't anything personal. I just don't want her to get hurt by you," Monique said with another glare.

"She didn't take it that way."

Sucking her teeth, Monique rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Kim knows I don't have anything against her."

"Uh-huh." Bonnie scoffed. _Optimism has to be contiguous and Monique has it, too much of it, though. Maybe this is hubris_. "Call her."

A wrinkle cut through Monique's forehead and she stared at Bonnie as if she was stupid. "What?"

"Call her on the phone right now. Since you think she's so aware you've got nothing against her, she'll answer right?"

Monique eyed her suspiciously, but pulled out her phone. Bonnie knew how this would go. Kim had gone out of her way to avoid Monique as much as possible. She honestly seemed to want to forget Monique existed. The damage might seriously be unrepairable and Monique seemed to get that when she called and received no answer.

"She's probably on a mission," Monique said.

"You keep telling yourself that. No matter when you call her, she's not going to pick up. She's about to write you off, not me," Bonnie stated.

"My girl wouldn't do that," Monique replied.

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah."

Bonnie snorted. "You really must not remember what you said. You told her she was stupid for believing me and you wouldn't stick around to watch her make an ass out of herself." And then there was so much more.

"Whatever," Monique scoffed.

"Watch this." Bonnie pulled out her phone and dialed Kim.

"Hey, sweetheart," Kim greeted her. Monique's eyes went wide. She probably could not believe Kim actually picked up. "I'm kinda in the middle of something."

"It's okay, baby. I just want to make sure you're okay," Bonnie replied.

"Yeah. I'll see you later."

"Bye." Bonnie put her phone away and looked back at Monique.

Monique's brow wrinkled a bit and she glanced off, undoubtedly trying to remember if she said what Bonnie claimed. She had said all that and more. She essentially made it seem like Kim had to make a choice and after all of the horrible things she said, it was not very surprising who Kim picked. Although, it was a little gratifying.

"Well, she is stupid if she thinks you're serious about this," Monique said, apparently doubling down on it. Maybe Kim was better off.

Bonnie shrugged. "If that's how you want to look at it, fine. Just know you lost a great friend because Kim's not going to come back. You're not going to be proven right. I have so many feelings for Kim and as long as she's there, I'm there." She almost said she loved Kim, but Kim needed to hear those words before anyone else.

Monique rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You're not going to trick me."

"Yeah, I'm tricking you." _Idiot_. "Whatever. Maybe you should keep trying to call Kim and figure out which one of us is tricking you, me or yourself," Bonnie replied before turning to leave.

Monique did not say anything as Bonnie left. Bonnie did not care if Monique messed this up. Her life would probably be much happier if Monique was out of Kim's life, but Kim liked Monique, so she considered this her try to make sure her beloved was happy. The ball was in Monique's court. If she dropped the ball, Kim would eventually move on.

-8-8-8-8-

Kim and Bonnie were doing homework when Kim's Kimmunicator sounded. She glanced at the screen and groaned. Bonnie knew what that sound meant.

"Are you ever going to answer a call from Monique?" Bonnie asked.

"No," Kim replied bluntly.

Bonnie shrugged. She had tried. This was Monique's fault.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Silver Lining

Kim felt bad for running out on Bonnie, but she needed to. She could not stay around Bonnie feeling the torment tearing at her stomach. It was not that she feared she would take it out on Bonnie, but more that Bonnie deserved better company.

Kim knew she was moody and anxious. She needed to move, forget it or get it out of her system. She wanted to do right by Bonnie, so Bonnie did not need to deal with her whirlwind of emotions. But, she was learning this was not the right way to think.

"Kim," Bonnie said.

"Hmm?" Kim looked up from her work.

Sighing, Bonnie shook her head and turned her attention back to her work. Kim went back to daydreaming, being lost in her thoughts, but not for long. Suddenly, she felt herself being embraced. Bonnie wrapped her in a hug and pulled Kim's head to her shoulder. Kim wasted no time returning the embrace.

"I'm here for you, baby. I know it's hard. I know about hard things. Tell me and help me make it better," Bonnie pled.

Sniffling, Kim shook her head. "Do you tell me all the hard things?" They both knew the answer to that.

Bonnie laughed a bit. "This is about you."

"Let me process my hurt my way. I don't want to drag you into this."

"You do realize I want to be dragged into this because I'm already in this. You're my girlfriend and I want to be there for you, carry your burden with you."

Kim chuckled. "You're killing it in English class, huh?"

"We've been doing poetry. I can get even more sappy and romantic on you."

Kim did not doubt that, but it put a smile on her face. There was something about Bonnie that just made her feel all warm inside. No one else could do this.

"Can you do a poem for me?" Kim found herself requesting. She needed something to give her hope that somehow all of this would be all right.

"Anything in particular?" Bonnie ran her hand through Kim's hair. It was so soothing.

"No. Just something nice."

Bonnie smiled. "I could do song lyrics if that's the case."

"Yeah, but we both know I'm the singer between the two of us."

"Hey, you don't know if I can sing or not."

Kim sighed and pulled Bonnie closer to her. "You know, I like this."

"This? Hugging? Being together in general? Talking?"

"All of the above." Kim then settled against Bonnie, resting her head against Bonnie's head.

"I like it, too."

"I'm getting better, you know?" Kim said.

"I know. I just want you to open up to me. I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere and you don't have to take on the whole world for me. I know you're Kim Possible and everything. Hell, I adore that about you, but it's okay for you to be human with me, baby. Just like when you're late for a date because you're saving the world, I'll understand," Bonnie told her.

"I know, but I don't want to burden you. I want things to be easy and nice for you."

Bonnie laughed. "We both know life's not like that, so it's okay. When you're with me, baby, we're a team. I'll carry you when you need me to."

"You say that, but again, you're not sharing your whole load."

Bonnie sighed. "That's just because I'm stubborn. I'll get there."

"I guess we'll both get there. But, until that point, can we keep doing this?" Kim asked. Her eyes drifted closed. Bonnie's hand in her hair was pretty relaxing and she felt like she could use some sleep. She had been running herself a little ragged with missions and in school. Anything to keep from thinking about what happened with Monique.

"I'm hoping we keep doing this for a long time," Bonnie replied, kissing Kim's forehead.

Kim only made a small, but pleased groan. She and Monique might never make up, but eventually, she knew she would be fine with it. If Monique could not accept Bonnie in her life, then she did not want Monique in her life, especially if Monique was just going to degrade their relationship and them.

With this out of the way, Kim decided to just focus her attention on Bonnie. Their anniversary was coming up. Beyond that, she could focus on Bonnie in general. Bonnie was this light in her life and Bonnie deserved to be treated as such. No more of this nonsense with dealing with everyone else. It was just her and Bonnie, like this moment.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Bonnie does a little shopping and is left uneasy. Kim tries to comfort her.


	20. Knight in Shining Armor

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

20: Knight in Shining Armor

Bonnie needed to do some shopping. She and Kim were coming up on their six-month anniversary and Bonnie wanted to look nice for their date. She also needed to get a gift for Kim. She wanted to make sure it was extra-special in case Kim's mood was not as into their date as she wanted since Kim was currently speaking with Monique somewhere alone. After two weeks of being utterly ignored, Monique finally managed to convince Kim to sit down with her. Bonnie was not confident in Monique fixing her mess, which meant it could affect her anniversary. Part of Bonnie considered Monique did this on purpose, even though she did not know it was their anniversary.

Shaking off that paranoia, Bonnie focused on the task at hand. Beautiful dress and amazing gift. Something to take Kim's breath away and blow her bra off. The very thought made Bonnie snicker. She was not sure if they would at least make it to third base on their anniversary, but she was hopeful.

Before she could really get started on her mission, Lance came out of nowhere. He fell into step with her and smirked like the jackass he was. Refusing to acknowledge him, she walked faster, hoping to just leave him behind. Of course, he kept up with her and then the next thing she knew he took her by the arm. He yanked her into a little niche, trapping her between the wall and his wide body. He put his arms up, one on either side of her head.

"Lance, what the hell are you doing?" Bonnie demanded, glaring at him.

"I just want to talk to you," he purred, his eyes glancing down at her breasts. He thought he was being sexy, but it was creepy. Hell, it had been creepy when she dated him.

"You can do that without pressing me," she hissed. Her heart sped up a little as she realized she was actually trapped. She could not get by him. She could barely see around him.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't listen. Besides, you used to like it up against the wall," he smirked again. He even licked his lips.

Bonnie felt like she might throw up. He truly had no idea how gross he was. For a moment, she wondered if that was what he would do with this life. Play up being a high school football star, fooling younger women — girls — into bed with him. _Pig_.

"Lance, let me go," she growled.

"Hold on, just a minute, girl," he laughed, like this was all some game. "I wanna ask you something."

"I don't care!" Bonnie said, pushing against him, but getting nowhere. He had her. They were just outside of view of everyone in the mall and unless someone heard her, he could do whatever he wanted.

"So you say, but we both know you're wandering school all free and single like you don't give a damn because you want to get back with me," he remarked.

"Wow," Bonnie said before she could stop herself. "That's some heavy delusion you're operating under." Even Brick was not arrogant enough to think her being "single" was a taunt to him. Of course, Brick had better things to do with his life than prey on his ex-girlfriends; thank God for that.

"I was thinking if you're real nice to me, I'll go with you to prom," he purred again.

 _Maybe if I knee him in the crotch, it'll work and he'll fall over._ Before she could try that, he reached out and caressed her cheek. She snatched her face away so hard, she slammed her head against the wall. She saw stars for a few seconds, but he did not seem to care.

"You know we'd be the best looking couple at prom," he commented.

"I'm not going to prom with you," she hissed, glaring at him, even though her vision was a little blurry.

"Why not? You went to my prom with me," he reminded her with another smirk.

Okay, she really was going to throw up. She had gone to his junior prom with him, two years ago. It was gross to remember. Everything about him was so gross. _But, doesn't that make you gross, too? After all, you did all those things with him. Hell, that's probably why Kim doesn't really want to do anything with you. Yeah, sure, there's a little under-the-clothes petting, but nothing really serious. She probably looks at you and wonders how many guys have already touched you, degraded you, and used you like the cumbucket you are_.

Bonnie's stomach dropped at how true that was. Kim was probably disgusted by her like she was with Lance. If Kim's parents were aware of her reputation, then Kim was hyper-aware of it. Not only that, Kim knew more of the truth of it than her parents did. A burning in her throat told her that she was definitely going to vomit now.

"Damn, Lance, still trolling for little girls," a very familiar, very nasty voice commented.

It was enough to make Lance turn. "Connie," he said with a smirk. "Upset I'm not trolling for you?"

Scoffing, Connie rolled her eyes. "Please, like you'd ever stand a chance."

"I dunno. I stood a chance with Bonnie," he said.

"Yes, when she was younger and weaker willed, but now…" Connie just motioned to Bonnie's face. Bonnie had the presence of mind to escape while Lance was preoccupied and she stood near her sister.

Lance glanced at her and laughed. "What? She still wants me. She's about to go to prom with me." He gave a confident smirk.

Connie laughed. "Go to prom with you? What's this, like, your third prom?"

"Did you even have a date to your prom?" he countered.

"No, I was too busy graduating. And, of course, I was too disgusted by your advice to look in playgrounds to follow through," Connie remarked.

"I think those words are too big for him," Bonnie chimed in.

Lance frowned, knowing how the Rockwallers girls could be. "Like I was too big for you?" he leered at Bonnie.

"Like your boyfriend will be when you finally go to jail for being a rapist," Connie replied.

Lance scoffed. "I'm not a rapist."

"Big words, big words," Bonnie reminded her sister.

Connie rolled her eyes. "Why are we bothering to waste our time with this douche bag? Come on, Bonnie." She motioned ahead of her and then started walking.

Bonnie went along and only then did it hit her how strange this was. Connie had just… helped her? Hell, saved her? Since when did that happen? And, worse than that, Lance had implied he slept with Bonnie in front of Connie. Oh, god, the humiliation and ridicule was probably just about to begin. Maybe she should have stayed with Lance.

"That guy's a disgusting monster. Too bad idiots will continue to fall for him because he's good-looking and can catch a football," Connie scoffed with a sneer curled on her lip.

Bonnie bit her lip. She was amongst those idiots. Well, she did not really fall for him. He never tricked her, but she still felt like an idiot.

"You weren't really considering going to prom with him, were you?" Connie asked, after a few seconds of silence. She looked at Bonnie, almost as if she were concerned or troubled by the idea Bonnie might actually go with him.

"No!" Bonnie answered quickly. She would never go anywhere with him.

"Well, you don't have a date, do you?"

Bonnie scoffed. "Prom's two months away and I have no problem getting dates." It was something she would have to think about, though.

Connie's forehead wrinkled. "Then what are you doing here?"

Bonnie shrugged. "Just shopping for some Spring Break outfits," she lied. She needed a dress that would have Kim stare at her like she had on Valentine's Day. Kim had been close to drooling. Now, Bonnie wanted to make her actually drool.

Connie chuckled a bit. "Me, too. Perhaps we could shop together."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed. "Why?" This had to be a trick! Her sisters never wanted to spend time with her, unless it involved ridiculing her.

"Because we can. It'll give us more time to make fun of Lance. Although, I'm willing to bet, he'll be in jail sooner rather than later," Connie commented.

Bonnie did not dispute that. She had seen him flirting with too many freshmen even now to think he would ever learn his lesson without a bit of a scare. He would definitely be hanging out in the high school parking lot in his letter jacket even after he aged out of school. One day, someone's father or older brother was definitely going to do something about Lance.

"Let's go in here," Connie said, pointing to a store they were coming up to.

It was a nice store and she could probably find an amazing outfit there for her anniversary with Kim. But, now she had to wonder if it was all for naught. Kim was pure and she was… well, her. Maybe they were doomed to fail.

"So, did you get your SAT scores yet?" Connie asked, browsing through some sundresses.

Bonnie turned to her sister. "How do you know I took the SAT?" Hell, why did Connie care if she took the SAT? Maybe Connie was jealous or felt like Bonnie was pushing into her territory. After all, Connie was the "smart one."

Connie gave her a leveled look. "Really? Mom wouldn't stop talking about it the day you went. She practically gushed over it to us and anyone else she came across I'm sure. You know how she is. So, did the scores come in yet?"

"No," Bonnie lied. Her score came in, but she planned to open the envelope with Kim. She was a little anxious about it, but she wanted Kim to see the score with her. Kim deserved to share her joy or sorrow before anyone else did.

Connie arched an eyebrow. "Well, how do you think you did?"

"Why?" Bonnie inquired as she went to look at other, better dresses. Connie followed her. "In fact, why'd you save me from Lance? What the hell's going on here? We both know I'm not the sister you hang out with."

Connie gave a small shrug. "This is true, but we get along sometimes."

"Uh… no, we never get along. Where are you getting this revisionist history from? There's you either making fun of me or you ignoring me. Those are the two constants in our relationship. This is new." And maybe even a little scary. _Maybe this is a game show and I get to be humiliated on national television or something_.

Shrugging, Connie smiled. "And maybe it could be a new constant in our relationship."

Bonnie's narrowed her gaze onto her sister. "Why? Why the sudden interest?"

Again, Connie shrugged and then waved the whole thing off by plucking a dress off the rack. "This would look nice on you."

And Bonnie hated to admit that it would! It would look nice on her, but why the hell was Connie helping her buy clothes? Why was Connie shopping with her? Why had Connie saved her? What the hell was going on here?

Since Connie was not answering, Bonnie took the dress and went to try it on. It looked amazing on her. It matched her eyes, falling just above her knees, and showing off her arms and shoulders with short sleeves. It showed off her breasts, but was pretty tasteful. Connie called her out and she had no choice but to show it off because she was definitely buying this. Maybe if she was lucky, Kim would like it enough to peel it off of her.

"That's a nice dress. Prom dress?" Connie guessed.

"No. Prom's two months away," Bonnie said again. She was not worried about prom. In fact, she did not want to think about prom. She and Kim probably would not go, unless they came out, which they did not really have any plans to do. Then, there was always the option of going with some guys. On top of that, she would have to save money to buy a dress and she did not see how she would save up enough money in two months.

"Well, it is nice. You're going to make some guy feel real good about himself by being on his arm," Connie commented.

Bonnie sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. "I don't need a guy to feel good about himself. It's all about me."

"Is that why you haven't been dating?" Connie asked.

Bonnie frowned at her. "Why do you know that?" Again, what the hell was going on here? Why was Connie so interested in her?

Connie chuckled and shrugged. Huffing, Bonnie turned around, retreating back into the dressing room. She took off the dress and put her own clothing back on. She went to buy the dress with Connie trailing behind her. Bonnie was not sure why her sister was so fascinated with her all of a sudden, but she was not going to fall for it.

She knew whenever Connie or Lonnie paid her some mind, emotional and psychological pain always followed. Sure, Connie was not making fun of her now, but she was probably doing research. After she got some information, then she would lay into Bonnie. To hell with that.

"Aren't you going to buy something?" Bonnie asked Connie as her older sister left the store with her.

"Have you started to look at colleges?" Connie inquired, as if Bonnie had not even said anything.

"What does it matter?"

"You're trying to go, right? You need to start looking into these things and you should look into scholarships. You could probably find some for cheerleading. There might be grants and things, too," Connie answered.

Bonnie side-eyed Connie. "Why do you care?"

"No one talked about these things to me. I did some research, but not enough. Yes, I have a full scholarship, but I had to look things up for other money. I had to chase things down. I had to balance out other needs, too. There's a lot to think about and consider when going to college. If I hadn't researched schools, I might not have found a school to offer me a full scholarship."

"I know," Bonnie huffed. She did not know much, but she was learning. Kim saw to that and, plus, she now found the college office in school to be intriguing. She would do her own research.

"I could help," Connie offered.

Bonnie snorted. "Yeah, so I could end up at college in East Bum-fuck or something? No, thank you."

"Bonnie," Connie sighed, like she was upset over being judged.

"Yeah, look, I still have some stuff to do and everything. I'll see you later," Bonnie said and rushed away from Connie. Connie was up to something, had to be. Well, Bonnie would not let her get into her mind and mess with her. She had an anniversary to worry about. Hell, she would have enough anxiety about that to not even think about this bizarre encounter with Connie.

-8-8-8-8-

"So, how did things go with Monique?" Bonnie asked, meeting up with Kim and Ron at Bueno Nacho. Ron was expectedly stuffing his face and sharing his meal with Rufus, who was also stuffing his face.

"Pretty good," Kim answered with a shrug. Her body language did not support that reply.

"Define 'pretty good,'" Ron requested around a mouthful of taco and then he swallowed everything. "Because she's not here right now." He looked around, like he needed to confirm his observation.

"Yeah!" Rufus squeaked with cheese all over his face.

"I know. She needed some time and really I needed some time. I mean, there was a lot between us," Kim pointed out.

"But, friendship unsinkable again?" Ron inquired with an arched eyebrow.

Sighing, Kim shook her head. "It might take a long while to reach that level. I feel like I'm surrounded by people who don't trust my judgement. Like I'm some kind of idiot and I need people to hold my hand."

Bonnie frowned at this. She hated that dating her had brought so much grief into Kim's life. How long would it be before Kim figured out this was not with it? She was not worth it? At least they had this anniversary. She could look forward to that and then worry about everything else.

"People are just trying to look out for you, K. P," Ron argued.

Kim scoffed. "Oh, please. I save the world, rescue people all the time, solve crimes, but can't figure out if who I want to be with is right for me? At least Bonnie trusts me to know my own emotions."

Any other time, Bonnie would have preened, sat up a little straighter, and just enjoyed the compliment. Instead, she sunk into herself a little more. Kim must have noticed. Her hand fell to Bonnie's knee and massaged it for a moment. Turning to Kim, she saw a small smile directed toward her.

Bonnie stayed quiet throughout the whole meal. She and Kim split from Ron when it was all over. He was on his way to meet Felix. Bonnie still had not been properly introduced to him. He seemed to be more Ron's friend than Kim's, but they made him sound like a good guy.

"We should meet up with Felix sometime. I don't know if you'd be into any of the things he and Ron are into, though," Kim said as they walked.

"What are they into?" Bonnie asked. She suspected Kim was more trigger shy about introducing her because of Monique.

Kim laughed. "Monster trucks and video games."

Bonnie frowned and Kim laughed more. They strolled to Kim's house with Kim teasing her by taking her hand for a few seconds, only to let go, and then do it all over again. Once they were tucked away in Kim's room, though, Kim gathered her up in her arms and held her close. They rested against the foot of Kim's bed.

"What's up with you, sweetheart?" Kim asked, hand on Bonnie's hip, fingertips dancing lightly against her.

"Nothing," Bonnie grumbled.

"It's something, baby. I know you and I know you've been quiet all day. Something's bothering you. What's wrong? I don't want you to be all upset during Spring Break. We've finally got some time together and everything." Kim kissed the side of her head.

Bonnie let out a long breath. "I saw my sister in the mall…"

"And?"

"She was nice to me." The very memory of it made her stomach drop.

Kim arched an eyebrow. "Okay…"

Bonnie shook her head. "Never mind. It's stupid." Yes, Kim knew about her dysfunctional family, but maybe it was best not to go into detail beyond what Kim knew. After all, this was probably not going to last much longer, so why burden Kim with her troubles?

"No, it's not," Kim argued and she picked Bonnie's chin up, so Bonnie looked her in the eye. "Come on, baby. We've come a long way. You can trust me with what's bothering you, like I trust you with what's bothering me. You told me you want to carry my burden with me. You know I want the same. I'm here. I'm always here."

Bonnie sighed. Kim was right. She had told Kim countless times since this whole thing with Monique that she was there for Kim. She wanted Kim to have faith in her, so she needed to have some faith in them. Kim was here like she was here.

"It's just that Connie was being nice to me and it was weird. I don't think she's ever been nice to me or paid attention to me in a positive way in my entire life. She helped me buy a dress and asked me about college. Hell, she even saved me from Lance." Bonnie still could not believe that last one.

"Lance Brass? That stupid football player?" Kim sounded a little upset and then she frowned. "What the hell did he do now?"

"It's nothing," Bonnie lied.

Now, Kim frowned and she stared at Bonnie hard. "It's not nothing if your sister had to save you. What the hell did he do?"

Bonnie shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Tell me what happened." Kim sounded so serious, like Lance might actually be in trouble.

"Why, so you can go beat him up?" Bonnie challenged Kim. What else could Kim do about Lance? What did she think she could do about Lance? Beyond beat him up anyway, which was tempting.

"It depends on what he did to you this time. I'm tired of him harassing you. He's one of those assholes who seems to think whatever he wants he should have just because he wants it and he seems to want you. The least I can do is hit him hard enough to forget about you… and maybe make sure he can't reproduce," Kim remarked.

Bonnie chuckled. "That would actually be nice."

"Consider it done," Kim said and she sounded damned serious.

"You'll be expelled."

"Not if I get him in the summer after he graduates and he doesn't know it's me," Kim replied, like she had put some thought into this.

"He's not going to graduate." This was a foregone conclusion. Bonnie was not even sure that idiot attended class, but something had to be going on for him to remain on the football team.

"Still, as long as he doesn't know it's me then it's fine. Is he the reason you're so uneasy or is it really your sister being nice to you that's the trouble?" Kim asked.

Sighing, Bonnie scratched her forehead for a moment. "Connie being nice to me. I don't understand it. I think she was setting me up and I can't figure out why. She asked about college and offered advice. I feel like she might think I'm stepping into her territory. You know, it was fine when I was dating and popular and showing Lonnie what for, but Lonnie's too stupid to realize I beat her at her own game. Connie might know. But, it makes no sense. I mean, I'm nowhere near as smart as her."

"Well, what if she meant it?" Kim asked.

"What?" Bonnie could not help staring at Kim with wide eyes, like Kim had lost her ever-loving mind. Was Kim completely nuts? Connie would never mean it! Not being nice!

Kim was unfazed, only smiling a little. "Yes, what if she meant it, Bonnie? Once upon a time, you were nice to me and you meant it for the first time."

"But, I had good reason. I lov—I liked you," Bonnie said and mentally she groaned. _Really? You just blurt it out like that? You know she didn't buy that cover!_ She doubted Kim bought it, but she was polite enough to not say anything.

"Maybe… just maybe Connie likes you," Kim argued.

Bonnie snorted. "You're kidding, right? They both hate me!"

"I don't know. Maybe they don't know how to express liking you at this point. I mean, I love the tweebs, but I have no clue how to show them I like them at this point. Hell, I'm not entirely sure I _do_ like them, but if in the future, I do, I don't think I'd know how to express it. Sometimes, you have to give people a chance."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. It made sense, but history had already proven how her sisters felt about her. She would not let Connie fool her.

But, on the plus side, maybe Kim would be there for her and she should stop thinking they were doomed to fail. Kim was there for her. So, she needed to make sure their anniversary was spectacular.

"Kim," Bonnie said.

"Yeah?"

Bonnie opened her mouth, about to confess her feelings, but held it in. Those could wait a couple of days for their anniversary. Instead, she smiled at Kim.

"I'm looking forward to our anniversary," Bonnie said.

"Me, too. I promise it'll be spanking," Kim replied. She requested the chance to plan this date. She said Bonnie could handle their one year anniversary. Kim saw them together for a year. She should have the same vision, even when it was hard.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Slaying a Dragon

Sitting with Monique in the park was a test in patience for Kim. Kim did not want to meet in her room again because she did not want Monique in her house. They agreed not to go to a restaurant because they did not want anyone listening in. But, now, they were outside and not saying a word. Kim could hardly glance to her left to acknowledge Monique's existence.

"So, you really going to act this way for Bonnie?" Monique said, starting the conversation off wrong as far as Kim was concerned.

"I'm not acting this way _for_ Bonnie. I'm responding to your attitude toward my relationship and my decisions in life," Kim replied.

Monique frowned. "I thought friends could tell each other the truth."

Kim felt her jaw tense. "There a difference between the truth, speculation, and name-calling."

"Come on. You know I didn't mean those names."

Shaking her head, Kim scoffed. "I don't know anything anymore."

"Well, that makes two of us," Monique said in firm tone, folding one leg over the other.

"If that's the case, then I figure you're okay with this whole thing and I can leave." Kim would rather hang out with Bonnie and Ron than go through another round with Monique.

Monique glared at her. "Of course I'm not okay with this! We're supposed to be friends, but you fucking picked Bonnie!"

"And this is what you don't get. I didn't _pick_ Bonnie. You blasted her, me, and our thing together. What was I supposed to do? Fold and just say, 'oh, yeah, Mo, you're totally right'? To hell with that." That was bullshit and Kim did not deal in bullshit.

Monique had the nerve to reel. "So, my opinion doesn't matter?"

"On something like this? Nope. My thing with Bonnie is _our_ thing. You're not in it. This is just me and her. You need to respect that," Kim stated.

"You want me to respect the fact that she's playing you? Why don't you get that?" Monique growled.

"And if she is, this is my mistake to make," Kim snarled back. "Why don't you get that?"

"Why the hell would you let her do that?"

"Because she's worth the risk," Kim stated and she meant that. Bonnie was worth any and every chance. Bonnie was worth her parents being upset. She was worth letting Monique throw her tantrum and go away. Bonnie was worth the world. "So, if you find you'd rather be right about Bonnie than just support my decisions, then we can do it like we've been doing. It's up to you."

Monique folded her arms across her chest. "That's an ultimatum."

"No, that's just the way it is because Bonnie's going to be there. If that's too much for you, this is where we part ways until you get to come in my face and gimme the 'I toldja sos.'" Kim shrugged.

Monique's eyes flashed. "You think that's what this is about?"

"I don't care what it's about! I care about not hurting Bonnie, which is what you do," Kim stated, throwing her hands up a little.

"I'm trying to look out for you. You'd do the same if were me," Monique argued, motioning to Kim.

"If you asked me to respect your decision, I would." Or so Kim hoped. Things could get a little weird with the Kim-ness and everything.

Monique let out a huff. "Fine. Do your thing. I won't say anything anymore."

That remained to be seen, but Kim guessed it was a start. Still, she and Monique parted ways fairly quickly afterward. She would see how it would go. For now, she needed to meet up with Bonnie and Ron at Bueno Nacho. Plus, she had to think about what she would get Bonnie for their six month anniversary.

"Well, I know what she wants and… I think I know what I want." Kim smiled.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the anniversary.


	21. Paper Roses

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

A/N: teenagers engaging in sexual activity at the end. Consider this your warning.

21: Paper Roses

Bonnie wondered if she would ever stop being nervous going over to the Possible house on date nights. She doubted it and had to take a breath as she stepped to the door. It did not help much and caused her lungs to burn more. She hoped Kim answered as she knocked. Unfortunately, it was wrong to hope.

"Bonnie," Mrs. Possible actually smiled as she opened the door.

For a brief moment, Bonnie forgot how to speak. Why was Mrs. Possible smiling at her? Her hackles went up and she was suspicious for more time than necessary before she remembered these were the Possibles. If they were upset with her, she would know because they would be direct about it. After all, Mr. Possible had threatened to send her into black hole if she did not treat Kim right not too long ago.

"Good evening, Mrs. Possible," Bonnie finally managed to say. She was proud not to stumble over her words, but her heart felt like it might thunder out of her chest.

"You look lovely," Mrs. Possible complimented her.

Bonnie was really confused. She did not understand why Mrs. Possible was being so nice to her. Mrs. Possible ushered her into the house and then openly took a look at her. She did her best not to blush under the scrutiny.

"This is a wonderful color on you and that necklace is so beautiful," Mrs. Possible said, motioning to the aforementioned jewelry.

Bonnie's hand went to her necklace without her permission, almost like she wanted to protect it. It was her Christmas gift from Kim. It matched her eyes, so it went well with the outfit Connie had helped her pick out.

"Kim should be down in a couple of minutes," Mrs. Possible informed her, just a little stunted. It was like she realized Bonnie was a little uncomfortable with how friendly she was.

"Thank you," Bonnie replied, not sure what she should do. Usually, Kim was ready as soon as she arrived, so she did not have to linger around the Possible home. Now, she had to stand here and figure out what to do with herself. _I wish melting into the floor was an option_.

"So, what do you girls have planned for tonight? Kim mentioned it was your anniversary," Mrs. Possible said.

 _So… we're making small talk?_ Bonnie could not help wondering if she was in the Twilight Zone. It definitely would make sense. She also could not believe Kim told her parents it was their anniversary, but then again, it was probably a way for her to get an extension on her curfew. Maybe.

"Six months," Bonnie offered with a laugh she was certain sounded as awkward as it felt.

Mrs. Possible smiled softly. "That's… amazing."

Bonnie arched an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes," Mrs. Possible sighed and focused on Bonnie's face. "I know we haven't been very fair to you, Bonnie, but Kim's been so happy having you around. I thought you were good for her when you were just friends and I let my anger at her concealing your relationship block out what I had seen earlier. I can see you're there for her, though."

Bonnie's brow furrowed. "What?"

"We all know you went to talk to Monique, wanting to save their friendship, even though Monique doesn't think highly of you."

Bonnie waved that off. "I don't care what Monique thinks about me." Monique could take a long walk off a short pier for all she cared. Unfortunately, Kim did not feel the same and she cared about Kim, so she did stupid things like try to talk to losers.

Before Mrs. Possible could say anything else, Bonnie heard footsteps on the stairs. Turning, she saw Kim descending and forgot how to breathe. With her hair up in a ponytail, sparkling earrings in her ears, and in a beautiful lilac dress showing off her powerful arms and shoulders. If Bonnie was not careful she would swallow her tongue or start drooling, neither of which was attractive or the best thing to do in front of her girlfriend's mother.

"Wow," Bonnie muttered and then felt a blush burn her cheeks as she remembered Mrs. Possible was still standing right there.

Kim smiled. "I should be saying that. You look lovely, Bonnie."

"That'd be you," Bonnie replied. She felt like she should have a better line than that, but her brain could not come up with something better. It was too busy trying to take all of Kim in and process Kim was dressed up for her.

Kim blushed and she looked amazing with the red stain on her face. Bonnie still could not remember how to breathe and internally coached herself. _In, out. In, out_. Kim came and took her hand.

"We should get going," Kim said.

"You're both beautiful," Mrs. Possible said.

"Thanks, Mom," Kim replied.

"Have fun," Mrs. Possible said and she just let them go.

Bonnie could hardly believe it. "Does your Mom understand what's going on?" she asked, just to be sure.

"Yes. She's the one who sent my dad and my brothers out to make sure we got out of the house smoothly," Kim answered.

"So… she's okay with me?" Bonnie asked, squinting just a little. She did not understand. Why was she okay all of a sudden?

"Yes, sweetheart. They know you're willing to fight for me and they understand you make me happy," Kim explained and then she turned her attention to the car Bonnie had driven to the house. It was a sporty little coupe. "Where'd you get this car from?"

Bonnie smiled impishly. "You're not the only one who can call in favors. Be a good girl and I'll even let you drive." She would be killed twice if anything happened to that car, especially if she was not behind the wheel at the time, but she could not resist the light in those olive eyes.

"Hey, I'm the one who knows where we're going," Kim replied.

Bonnie chuckled, but she gave Kim the key. Kim would probably be more cautious with the car than she would anyway. Kim smiled and opened Bonnie's door before going to slide into the driver's seat. They were off with that.

"So, who did you call in a favor from?" Kim asked curiously.

"No one you know. Don't worry about it. What do you have planned for our evening out?" Bonnie countered.

"That's a surprise, but I promise it won't be over the top," Kim said and Bonnie gave her a look. "I promise! Ron talked me down from doing anything too elaborate! He said it wouldn't be fair to you."

That seemed weird. "How'd it be unfair to me?"

"Because you let me plan out this anniversary and we agreed you could do our year anniversary. If I do something crazy like fly us to Paris, you're going to do nothing but worry about how to top that for our year anniversary."

Bonnie snorted. "Yeah, I don't think I'd be topping Paris. Remind me to thank Ron." While she was sure that would have been incredibly romantic, she really would have spent the next six months going crazy on how to match or top that. But, hopefully, Paris was in their future.

Kim rolled her eyes. "Like you would."

A tiny smile played on Bonnie's lips. "No, I really wouldn't. I'd thank Rufus."

"Ron's going to get a complex if you keep openly favoring Rufus like you do," Kim remarked.

Bonnie smiled more and took Kim's hand — the one she was not using to steer the car. "Can we not talk about Ron anymore? I'd like this night to be about us."

Kim grinned. "I want that, too. Now, while this is no trip to Paris, I do want you to know this isn't a competition. I know you'll do great when you plan out our one year anniversary, so don't worry about it."

Nodding, Bonnie glanced at Kim. "How did I end up the worrier out of us?" Kim only laughed.

-8-8-8-8-

Kim had arranged for an early dinner all the way in Upperton. This way, they could be openly affectionate with each other and it was very unlikely someone from Middleton would see. The restaurant, though, ensured no one they knew would see them. It was definitely the nicest place Bonnie had ever been to, and that included the wonderful places Kim took her on occasion. Everyone inside seemed to be dressed to the nines, just like they were, and staff bustled around, making sure everything ran perfectly. They did not even have to wait, being led to a table right after Kim gave her name.

"This is very nice," Bonnie said as she and Kim were seated in a corner, tucked away in the small space with a lovely view of a park outside. The lights were turned down in the place and a candle on their table highlighted Kim's beautiful face.

"I thought you'd like it. It's cozy and romantic. The moment you said I could do this date, I thought of this place," Kim admitted.

"Really? How long have you been hiding this little spot?" Bonnie asked with a smirk and a smoldering look. Suddenly, she felt special and sexy, which she knew she should.

A light blush danced across Kim's cheeks. "I've known about it for a couple of years. I think you'll like it. I hope you'll like it. I'd love to come back here with you."

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

Kim just smiled. A waiter came over and took their drink orders. Bonnie looked through the menu, so many Italian dishes and she did not know what to go with. Kim seemed to be watching her look. She smirked and glanced at Kim with hooded eyes.

"Any suggestions?" Bonnie asked.

"So many," Kim replied in a whisper and her eyes actually trailed down Bonnie's body. Bonnie had never felt sexier in her life.

"About the food?" Bonnie managed to tease. She somehow did not squirm in her seat.

Kim cleared her throat. "Of course. Yes. Food."

Bonnie chuckled. This was definitely promising. Maybe Kim was ready to move to the next level. Well, she would not pressure Kim for more, but she would definitely tease her as much as possible and see where it would take them.

Drinks were brought and dinner orders were placed. Bonnie managed to make eating linguini and shrimp something interesting because Kim could not take her eyes off of Bonnie's mouth. Of course, Bonnie liked the attention. Maybe Kim really was ready.

"This food's good," Bonnie commented, reaching across the table for Kim's hand. It was nice when Kim took her hand and just held it. She wished they could do this all the time.

"I'm so glad you like it," Kim replied with a smile. Her thumb stroked Bonnie's hand and it caused sparks to run through Bonnie.

"You're too good to me."

Kim held her hand a little tighter. "No. I want you to know how important you are to me, even if I don't say it. But, you _are_ important to me, Bonnie. Please, don't doubt that."

Bonnie smiled. "How do you know the right things to say all the time?" Just a few days ago, she worried about what Kim thought of her and now she had her answer. She was important to _the_ Kim Possible.

"How do you know the right thing to do all the time?" Kim countered with a little half-smile.

Bonnie did not feel like she knew the right thing to do ever. This was so different than anything she was used to, even now, that it was all guesswork. But, it was good guesswork. She felt like instinctively she worked with Kim.

"So, I was hoping we could take a walk for a little while after this," Kim said.

"I don't have a problem with that, but I'm not sure how far I can walk in these shoes," Bonnie admitted. Her heels were made for showing off how hot her legs were, not for practical things.

"Just around the Commons."

Bonnie nodded. The Upperton Commons was a park area with shops, games, and performers. It seemed like there was so much stuff, all highlighted with bright streetlamps. She had never seen the place, but she had heard about it from her aunt Sonni. It turned out, it was lovely and breathtaking. They walked there, holding hands and standing close.

"This is like a dream," Bonnie said, cuddling in close to Kim.

"It'd be nice to do this in Middleton, right?" Kim asked.

"It would." It would be nice to just be a normal couple and be themselves, but they would never be able to do that.

"So… we should come out?" Kim wondered aloud.

Bonnie frowned a little. "It's something to think about, but I don't want to think or talk about it right now. I just want to enjoy you."

Kim smiled. "Yeah."

They did not walk through the Commons for long, both unable to take much in their shoes. They took pictures by a fountain where the waters changed colors and bought a couple of trinkets before making their way back to the car. Kim drove again, but did not return home. Instead, she pulled into a parking lot for the Middleton Woods.

"You think you can make it to the cabin?" Kim asked.

"I'm sure of it," Bonnie answered. She could make it to the moon if Kim wanted her to.

"I want to exchange gifts at the cabin if that's okay with you," Kim said.

Bonnie nodded. "I was wondering when we'd do that."

A smile lit up Kim's face, but was accompanied with a blush. "I just… it felt right to end the date at the cabin. Our spot."

The term "our spot" made Bonnie practically grin. It was _their_ spot, even if they did not own it. It was almost like having a little hideaway. Some place where they could forget the world existed and just be themselves. It was like Kim's room, but without having to worry about parents or tweebs. It was amazing.

Hiking to the cabin in the heels was no easy feat, but they managed it. The dark did not make it any easier, even with the Kimmunicator's impressively bright light. Still, when Bonnie saw the cabin, her heart felt light.

When they entered, Kim flicked on the lights and immediately Bonnie saw the large bouquet of roses in the middle of the room. Bonnie gasped. Kim put her arm around Bonnie's waist and pulled her close.

"I figured it'd be best to leave them here for you than give them to you in front of my mom," Kim explained.

"They're beautiful," Bonnie said. "I think I'll leave them here, though." It was not like she could take them home without having to answer a bunch of questions she did not care to.

"I thought you would. I want to light a fire and we can exchange gifts, okay?"

Bonnie just nodded and watched Kim light a fire in the fireplace. It always amazed her when Kim did it because she did not understand how Kim did it so easily, beyond the fact that she was Kim anyway. They sat in front of the warm, dancing flames and Kim had a bottle of sparkling cider, pouring it into champagne flutes.

"I had considered actual champagne, but…" Kim trailed off.

"This is fine. I don't want you to do anything you're uncomfortable with," Bonnie replied. Kim did not drink. Kim probably did not even think about drinking and that was fine. Bonnie was at a place in her life now when she understood drinking for most teens — hell, maybe most people — was a distraction and kept people from changing the circumstances that caused them to drink.

Kim smiled. "Do you know this is one of the things I really appreciate about you?"

Bonnie's brow furrowed. "What?"

"You let me go at my own pace. You don't pressure me for anything and I know most people aren't like that. You don't tease or taunt me in any way. You just accept me."

Bonnie scoffed. "Because I love you," she said it like it was common knowledge and it was not until a yelp from Kim followed the words that she realized what she said. "Uh… I mean…" _Shit_. She could not take it back because it was true and besides, no girl wanted someone to take back a declaration of love. _Shit_.

"You mean that?" Kim asked, her head ducked and her voice low. Damn, she looked cute and shy. It made Bonnie melt.

"Of course, I mean it. I love you, Kim. I've loved you since that day we met maybe. If not then, then definitely quickly after we started dating. Sometimes, I just look at you and my heart swells and I wonder what wonderful thing I've done to deserve you in my life. And, I know I couldn't have done anything yet, so now I have to make sure I do everything to keep you in my life, to deserve you."

"Bonnie…" Kim whispered, but did not say anything else. The fire crackled and shadows flickered across her face.

Bonnie gnawed the side of her lip for a second, tasting lipstick. "You don't need to say it back and you don't really need to respond. I just want you to know that's how I feel."

Kim leaned over, catching Bonnie in a passionate kiss. Bonnie jumped in surprise, but quickly got over it. A moan escaped her as Kim's tongue slid into her mouth and caressed her own. Kim crawled closer, careful not to disturb the kiss. Bonnie wrapped her arms around Kim and then Kim pulled away. Bonnie whined at the loss.

"Wait, wait, wait," Kim said.

"What?" Bonnie panted.

"Let's exchange gifts before we get wrapped up in…" Kim blushed as she trailed off.

Bonnie chuckled and licked her lips. "Yes. Good point."

Sighing, Bonnie sat back and gathered her purse. Before she could open it, Kim was already holding up her present. It was small with a giant bow on it. Bonnie knew what it was without having to open.

"Kim…" Bonnie said.

"I know we're not coming out and enjoying our little bubble, but I just… I want people to know you're with someone, someone who cares about you, and who wants you to be happy," Kim explained as she handed over the ring box.

"You…" Bonnie was speechless and just opened the box. Gasping, she could hardly believe her eyes. It was a beautiful white gold band with a flower of small diamonds and in the center of the flower was a shining ruby. Red. Kim's color. Tears were in Bonnie's eyes as she tried to free the ring from the box with shaky hands.

"You okay?" Kim asked as she took the box and pulled out the ring. She made it look so easy.

"I'm so happy!" Bonnie blurted out.

Kim smiled. "I'm glad. I don't want you to think I'm staking my claim or anything…" She paused from sliding the ring on Bonnie's finger.

Bonnie reached up and caressed Kim's cheek. "I know you'd never think of owning me. I love this. I like the idea of people knowing I'm off limits and the fact that you picked a ruby makes it even better."

"I was hoping you'd see it and think of me."

"Of course."

Kim slid the ring on Bonnie's left ring finger. This did not escape Bonnie and her heart thumped to the point where she thought it might burst from her chest. This was real. Her relationship with Kim was real.

"Oh, god, is my makeup running?" Bonnie asked, wiping her eyes.

"You're beautiful, sweetheart," Kim replied and kissed her sweetly on the lips.

Bonnie laughed. She was probably a mess then, but Kim did not mind. She took a breath, wanting to get herself together. Kim just smiled at her.

"My gift seems so stupid now…" Bonnie finally went into her purse and pulled out two items. One was a jewelry box of her own and the other was a envelope.

"Nothing about you is stupid," Kim promised her.

"Okay, so I want to open this first." Bonnie held up the envelope.

Kim studied it and then looked at Bonnie. "Is this your…?"

Bonnie nodded and swallowed as lump formed in her throat. "It's my SAT results. I haven't opened it yet. I wanted to do it with you. Is that okay?"

"Of course!" A grin beamed from Kim. "I'm so happy you want to share this moment with me."

"Who else would I share it with, baby?" Bonnie asked.

Kim did not reply. Bonnie took a deep breath and held the envelope up, so Kim could touch it with her. Then, she ripped it open. Bonnie pulled out the paper, but she looked away.

"What does it say?" she asked, her voice low and trembling. Shit, what if it was so low Kim would not even be able to tell her? This whole idea about going to college was stupid. Love made her do stupid things. Why had she even—

"You got a sixteen hundred," Kim stated calmly.

"A sixteen? I didn't even know you could score low!" Bonnie wailed. She was so stupid!

Kim chuckled. "Sixteen _hundred_ , baby. You got a sixteen hundred. That's a little higher than the national average, actually. You did good."

Bonnie blinked. "I did what?"

"You did good."

"Wait… so, I'm not stupid?"

Caressing Bonnie's cheek, Kim smiled before leaning in for a small kiss. "Far from it, babe. I knew you had it in you."

"So… I'm going to college?"

"You're damn right you're going to college! And with a score like this, you can get into some good schools, as long as you keep your grades up."

Bonnie breathed a long sigh of relief. "Wow… wow…" Her mind whirled. College. It was not some abstract, absurd dream anymore. It was within her grasp. "Gimme a minute."

"Take all the time you need." Kim pulled her close and rubbed her shoulder.

Bonnie was not sure how to process this information and decided it was best to put it away for now. She could go to college, but she now had to figure out where she wanted to go and how she would pay for it. How would this affect her relationship with Kim? Sure, they still had a year of high school to go, but she hoped they were still together then. She would never be able to get into the schools Kim would apply for, but maybe they could go somewhere in the same area. It was something to consider later.

"So, here's the other gift," Bonnie said, handing over the jewelry box.

"Hard to top the excitement of the SAT scores, but okay." Kim peeled away carefully wrapped paper and popped open the box. She smiled as she saw it. "Is this the key to your heart?" she asked with a teasing smile as she held up the silver key. It was decorated with a heart at the head with small jewels going around it.

Bonnie grinned. "It is. You've had it for a long time, but I think it's best to make sure you know."

"I love this. I'm going to put it right in my keepsake box," Kim replied. She stared at the key for a long moment. "I've got the key to the best girl's heart…" she whispered as if she were in awe.

The sincerity in Kim's voice hit Bonnie right in the chest and she leaned in for her own kiss now. Kim responded immediately. Kim's hands went to Bonnie's waist, holding her steady. It was possible Bonnie had torn her dress moving with such haste, but she honestly did not give a damn. She would tear it even more if she had to because Kim pulled back and she chased after her, wanting that mouth always and forever.

"Bonnie, wait," Kim said.

Bonnie sighed and pulled away just a little. "Yeah?"

"I was thinking… Um… maybe…" Kim glanced behind them… in the direction of the bed.

Bonnie almost swallowed her tongue, which definitely would not be prudent at the moment. "You… Are you… I mean… Sure?" _What the hell was that? Was that even a sentence?_

"I am. I mean, if you're ready," Kim said.

Bonnie's jaw practically hit the floor and she knew her eyes were wider than anyone would advise. "If I'm ready?" she echoed incredulously. She was ready about six months ago!

"Yeah, I mean—" Kim was cut off as Bonnie kissed her again.

Kim responded in kind, kissing her back. Bonnie tried her best to hold back her hunger, but the dam broke. She wanted Kim and Kim would know that before they moved from this spot. By the time they pulled away, they were both short of breath and Bonnie had a hand inside of Kim's dress.

"Maybe we should go to the bed and continue this," Kim suggested in a pant.

Bonnie only nodded. _Okay, don't rush. Don't scare her. Don't seem overeager_. Of course, it was hard not to seem overeager with her hand on Kim's bare thigh.

Kim stood first and helped Bonnie to her feet. They both kicked off their shoes, as they would not need them for a while and then strolled the short distance to the bed with their arms around each other. They sat down, causing the full-sized mattress to groan a little under the weight, and began kissing again. It seemed like they kissed forever, but Kim did not seem to be trying for much else.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Bonnie asked.

Kim nodded. "Yeah… I just…" She frowned a little and shook her head. "I don't know what to do. I mean, I know what to do, but…"

Bonnie smiled and took Kim's hand, holding it tightly. "Is it all right if I take the lead?"

"Please and thank you."

Bonnie laughed a little, unsure of what else to do in that moment. This was awkward to say the least, but she would take it and run with it. So, she leaned in, kissing Kim softly and gently. The embrace was slow, but passionate. Reaching up, she caressed Kim's face and bare shoulders. Then, air was necessary and Bonnie moved on.

Her lips found Kim's cheeks and then her neck. Kim made little sounds of encouragement and her hands fumbled across Bonnie's back and arms. Bonnie flicked the zipper of Kim's dress.

"May I?" Bonnie asked in a breath, giving the zipper a little tug, so Kim knew what she meant.

"Yes," Kim exhaled.

One word should not sound so fucking amazing, but it did. Unzipping the dress, Bonnie was floored to find Kim did not have on a bra. So, she was able to see bare flesh and she was fairly certain she might pass out from the sight.

"You, too?" Kim asked.

"Definitely." _Okay, I cannot pass out. I have to live through this. Then, I can die and go wherever since this is definitely heaven_.

The sound of her zipper falling was music to Bonnie's ears and just like that, they were both naked. Kim was on her back and Bonnie over her. They kissed as if they had all night, hands roaming newly discovered skin.

"You feel so good," Bonnie purred, lips trailing down Kim's neck. Her body was on autopilot, just knowing she wanted everything.

Kim could only moan, which was all right by Bonnie. It encouraged her, moved her, and as her lips trailed down, she came to a place her hands knew fairly well. She had understood guys' fascination with breasts long before she touched Kim's, but being able to put her lips on them was something she would never be able to explain.

"I love you," Bonnie muttered before placing kisses all over Kim's breasts. "I love you." She palmed one while her mouth lavished attention to the other. Kim whimpered.

"Bonnie…" Kim breathed, her hands clawing at Bonnie's back.

"I love you…" Bonnie felt like she could not say anything more. She probably did not need to say anything more. There were kisses in between her chant, pants from Kim, and her free hand slid to Kim's haven.

Kim whimpered and clutched Bonnie's back. Pulling back slightly, Bonnie looked at Kim's face. Her eyes were shut and the sweetest sounds spilled from her lips. Bonnie leaned in, giving her a gentle kiss.

"Open your eyes, love," Bonnie requested.

Slowly, beautiful olive eyes fluttered open. "Bonnie…" Kim whispered.

"May I?"

"Please…" Kim spread her legs wider.

"I love you," Bonnie said and then did something she had only dreamed of doing. Kim moaned and so did Bonnie. This was heaven, so hot, so tight, so loving. Kim surrounded her, flooded her in every way, took her over.

The way Kim arched for her, Bonnie let out a whimper. This was perfect. Sheer perfection. She kissed Kim's cheeks, neck, and chest while Kim's body chased her finger. Her thumb pressed against Kim's pleasure as she moved her digit, taking in Kim, making her own body buzz with delight.

It was over all too soon, but Bonnie hoped it would be something they did time and time again. Kim let out what Bonnie could only describe as a cute coo as she fluttered around Bonnie's finger and then fell against the pillow. Bonnie was able to hold her and Kim cuddled into her. She rained down soft kisses on Kim's cheeks.

"I wish I was ready sooner," Kim muttered.

Bonnie smiled and kissed the side of Kim's head. "You were ready when you were ready. But… um… this is going to be a regular thing now, right?"

"Well, first off, it's not done yet." Kim moved swiftly and Bonnie was suddenly pinned. "And, yeah, I think we can make time for this more often." Leaning down, she devoured Bonnie's response with a kiss.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Smell Sweet

Kim was on a mission. She needed to make Bonnie feel as good as Bonnie had just made her feel. Yeah, she was sure she was simple since before Bonnie the only touch she knew was her own, but Bonnie loved her and that had to count for something. Besides, she could do anything and she was about add "rock Bonnie's world" to that list.

"Take your time," Bonnie sighed, breaking their kiss.

"Tell me what you like," Kim said. Some pointers might help.

"No."

Kim blinked. "No?"

"Do what you want and you'll find out if I like it. I want you to explore and have fun."

Kim frowned a little, feeling her eyebrows draw in close. "I want to make you feel good."

Bonnie smiled at her. "It'll make me feel good if you just get comfortable. Like I asked, this is going to be a regular thing, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, this is our time to learn each other. I might even learn things about me. Just explore."

Kim smiled and kissed Bonnie again. She was serious about the no pressure thing. It was nice and sweet and it gave Kim a chance to just learn about Bonnie's body, learn the sounds she made, and learn her reactions to figure out what she liked.

She quickly figured out they both liked having their bodies pressed together. Bonnie clung to her, pulled her down, made sure they had skin contact. Even as she pulled away, wanting to kiss other places, Bonnie held onto her. Of course, Kim had little desire to erase any of the skin-on-skin contact anyway.

She kissed Bonnie's cheeks and earlobes. Before she realized, she nipped at Bonnie's jaw and earned a small yelp. That was promising and she stored it away. It was definitely important information.

Moving down, she palmed and kneaded Bonnie's breasts. She lost herself in this, listening to Bonnie panting and whining. Bonnie squirmed under her and she loved it. Okay, so it was official, boobs were all kinds of awesome.

"Kim," Bonnie sighed and lifted her hips some.

Kim adjusted her body, sliding a leg in between Bonnie's legs. The way Bonnie moved against her, it made her moan. Shifting move, she tried to move with Bonnie without losing those awesome breasts. Bonnie moved a little more and then next thing Kim knew, there was a thigh between her legs. A long groan escaped her.

Suddenly, it was hard to concentrate with their bodies entwined, moving together. Kim felt that bliss building within her. And then she felt it go up her spine before it splashed all through her. She fell against Bonnie and Bonnie held her, kissing her gently.

"I love you," Bonnie said.

Kim wanted to say it back, but knew now was not the time. Instead, she closed her eyes and let this wonderful girl love her.

"Happy anniversary. And, yeah, totally doing it again," Kim managed to say. In fact, they would be doing it again as soon as she got her second wind. She still had to make Bonnie feel good.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: words in the hallway leave Kim and Bonnie going to the prom with other people.


	22. Caterpillar

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

22: Caterpillar

After their anniversary, Kim and Bonnie were far touchier. It was like they could not help themselves, whether they were in public or not. They had to hold hands, they had to brush stray hair from the other's face, they had to put an arm around the other when they were close. Hell, sometimes they even kissed each other on the cheek. To say people were suspicious was the least of it, but no one was dumb enough to say anything. It all came to a head when Lance — of all goddamn people — made a comment.

"You gone all dyke on us, Rockwaller? That's why you don't wanna go to the prom with me?" Lance commented, in the middle of the crowded hallway.

Bonnie was about to snap at him when she realize why he said it. She and Kim were holding hands. She had not even realized it and snatched her hand away very quickly. Olive eyes looked hurt for a moment, but Bonnie decided to concentrate on the wrong thing instead of her girlfriend. She needed to rip Lance a new one and cover in case anyone else got it in their heads that she was a dyke.

"I'm just not interested in enabling you to stay longer. I figure if you go with me to your third prom, you'll try to stick around for a fourth," Bonnie commented, glaring at the smug bastard.

Lance laughed and glared down at her. "Nah, I know a dyke when I see one and that's definitely you."

Flinching, Bonnie growled at the word. "It's surprising considering it's on a long list of words you can't spell."

"Hey, leave her alone, Lance." Kim growled and she actually pushed Lance. She made it seem easy, he fell back a little, but totally ignored her. He kept his eyes pinned right on Bonnie.

"I don't have to spell it to know one when I see one, _dyke_ ," he stated, stressing the last word just a little too much.

"I said leave her alone!" Kim shoved him again, making him fall back against the lockers.

Lance actually laughed. "Sticking up for your little dyke, Possible?"

Snarling, Bonnie could actually feel her blood pressure rising. It felt like her head would explode. She was not a goddamn dyke!

"Just because I don't want _you_ doesn't make me a dyke. Any guy's better than you," Bonnie hissed.

"And yet here you are holding hands with Possible, like the little dyke you obviously are," Lance commented with an arrogant smirk.

For a moment, Bonnie wondered if he knew what _that_ word did to her. Had one of her sisters told him? It did not matter. She was not a dyke and she would prove it!

"I just have standards above you!" Bonnie declared and to prove it — along with her very non-existent heterosexuality — she grabbed the closest boy to her and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. Ron practically fainted when she pulled away, but she shoved him against the lockers hard enough for him to keep his wits about him. Then she stormed off.

"Bonnie!" Kim shouted, but Bonnie ignored her.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie ended up at her spot overlooking the city. She cut school after — she shuddered from the memory — kissing Ron, of all people. She tried her best not to think about… _that word_ … and what it did to her. She was not _that word_. She was not.

"Is this one of those times I should just leave you alone?" Kim asked as she parked herself right by Bonnie's side.

Bonnie answered that question by throwing her arms around Kim. Kim wasted no time returning the embrace and pulling Bonnie close. Bonnie sighed. This felt so good, to be held and comforted. It felt good for someone to recognize she was hurt and wounded and try to patch her up.

"Are they still talking about it at school?" Bonnie asked with a whimper. They would probably be talking about her being… that… forever now. But, she was not… _that_!

"They're more talking about how you laid one on Ron than anything else. His popularity's going to be through the roof at least until the end of the week and there'll be no living with the guy," Kim remarked. "And, if not that, they'll be talking about the black eye Lance will be sporting soon enough or how he's walking really funny."

"I'm so sorry!" Bonnie could not believe it. Not too long ago, she had professed her love for Kim and now she was kissing random boys in the hallway! _I'm horrible. I've always been horrible and Kim can't cure that_.

Kim shrugged a little, but held Bonnie firm. "You panicked. I'm not faulting you for that. We all have a moment when we don't know what to do. But, I'm guessing you don't think it's a good idea for us to come out."

Rubbing her forehead, Bonnie exhaled loudly. "I don't know what would be a good idea. I just… I'm not… I don't want people to think I'm a… dyke." Her stomach flipped as soon as she said the word.

"All right."

"But, I love you!" Bonnie insisted.

Kim smiled softly, but definitely looked like she was trying to defuse a bomb at the moment. "I know." She caressed Bonnie's shoulder. "I was thinking… Maybe for prom, we should take dates."

Flinching, Bonnie looked at Kim with a scowl on her face. "You want… you want to go to prom with a boy?" Acid burned her throat, but she managed to swallow it down before she threw up all over both of them.

Scoffing, Kim laughed. "Hardly a boy. I'll go with Ron. You can find a date and you won't have to worry about people thinking you're gay."

Bonnie's scowl only deepened to the point it hurt her face. "I'm not worried about people thinking I'm gay."

Kim's forehead wrinkled as she stared at Bonnie like she was crazy. "Bonnie, you just cut school for the day."

"Because Lance is a jackass! A ridiculous jackass who doesn't know when to stop talking!" she snarled.

"Either way, to keep our little bubble going, I figured we'd take dates to the prom and it should hush any rumors about us."

Bonnie sighed because that did make sense if only to protect their bubble. There were rumors about them now. How could there not be? Not with all of the stuff they just did in the open now. Hell, most of the school probably would not be surprised if she planted one of Kim instead of Ron earlier.

"I guess. I do so like our bubble," Bonnie said, curling in just a little tighter.

Kim did not respond, just held her closer. Bonnie had a feeling she had done something wrong, but she was not sure what. Part of her wanted to ignore it, but that was no way to have a relationship.

"You okay?" Bonnie asked in a low voice.

A snort of laugh escaped Kim. "That's what I should be asking you."

"You take care of me enough and always carry my load. Tell me if something's bothering you."

"It's nothing."

Bonnie smirked. "Liar." Kim just wanted to spare her feelings in this moment. "When you're bothered, I'm bothered. You know that."

A little smile crept onto Kim's face. "I know."

"So, tell me."

Kim shook her head. "It's just… I thought we were actually going to step out of the bubble. It didn't seem so bad."

Bonnie sighed. She did not know what to say. "It doesn't."

"But, you don't want people to think you're…" Kim trailed off.

"It's not that," Bonnie insisted. She was what she was — gay as hell for Kim Possible. Gay in general. But, Kim did not say anything and they sat there in silence.

-8-8-8-8-

Finding a date for the prom was nothing. She and Kim did not talk about it. Hell, Kim almost did not make it for prom, getting pulled off on a mission. Bonnie worried about not seeing Kim there, even if they were not together. The idea made her stomach twist and every nerve in her body felt raw. But, when it was all handled, she texted Bonnie to let her know she would make it. Bonnie had literally breathed a sigh of relief.

Kim went with Ron, as promised. Bonnie thought it was because Ron would not have gotten a date anyway, but he explained it as his girlfriend not being able to make it from Japan. The little weirdo had a girlfriend? Who knew.

Bonnie went with Chambers Wiltman. He was a basketball player and a big playboy. He seemed to be under the impression he was going to get in bed with Bonnie by the end of the night. Of course, he probably thought that because Bonnie had slept with him in the past. The thought made her want to throw up, but her dress was too nice to ruin.

She and Chambers barely made it inside without him groping her, palming her ass like a basketball. She was so close to slapping the shit out of him, but decided to just go with it. This was going to save her bubble with Kim, after all. _I can do this_. _I can do this_.

It was very clear she would not survive this, though. One dance with Chambers and she was so close to kneeing him in the balls that she decided to sit out the rest of the prom. After all, no one would forgive her if she took out the star small forward. She did make it a point to step on his foot as she walked off, though. He would have to sit out a couple of dances, too, if his grimace of pain meant anything.

Bonnie found a seat and spotted Kim almost as soon as she sat down. Kim danced with Ron. She looked beautiful, as always. She wore a blue dress and her hair was done up with little curls on the side. Bonnie wanted to take her into her arms and slow dance with her, show Stoppable how it was done.

"This isn't fair…" Bonnie pouted.

This was not how she expected the prom to be. She wanted to be with Kim. She wanted to pick her up in the same little coupe she drove for their anniversary. She wanted to compliment Kim's dress, kiss her softly, take a prom picture, and then ride off into the sunset… well, into the moonlight.

Instead, she had to watch Stoppable dance with Kim. She had to watch guys galore come up to Kim and compliment her dress, ask her to dance, and then paw at her like they deserved her. The worst of it, Kim did not even look at her. All night.

 _Maybe this was just an excuse for her to see guys. She gets to prove she's not a dyke, too_. Bonnie ground her teeth together. _No one called her a dyke, though_. No one would dare. But, they would dare with her.

"Hey, Bonnie." Tara came out of nowhere and sat down.

Bonnie managed a smile, but could only hold it for a second. "Hey."

"What're you doing sitting around? You better go dance with Chambers before one of those hoes get him in the bathroom," Tara pointed out.

Bonnie snorted. "I don't care." It did not matter to admit. Some skeevy bitch could have him. She just wanted Kim and her eyes drifted right over to the redhead again. Kim did not turn in her direction.

"You okay?" Tara asked in a low tone.

Bonnie waved her off. "Fine. Go enjoy the dance."

"You know if you want to talk about anything…" Tara turned a little to look at Kim as well.

Bonnie bite the corner of her mouth. "There's nothing. Go ahead. Enjoy prom."

Tara tilted her head, her blond hair slipping over her shoulder. She was cute, like a little puppy. She looked like she really wanted to be there for Bonnie, but Bonnie was not ready to be that open.

"When I want to talk, Tara, you'll be the first," she stated. This was the truth. She could not unload everything on Kim, after all. Besides, she would need to come out to someone if only to test it out.

Tara gave her a chastising look, but did not press. Bonnie waved her away, basically dismissing her. This actually made Tara laugh. She shot Tara a smile before Tara eased away. Bonnie watched her leave and then her attention drifted back to Kim. Her heart sank and she felt like she might burst into tears at any moment.

"What's the point in even being here?" Bonnie mumbled and this was true. What was the point of being there? She did not like Chambers and he seemed to be having a good time with several other cheerleaders, who could fight to the death over the guy for all she cared. Kim was happy with Ron and other dance partners.

Prom was worthless and meaningless. There was no reason to stick around. So, she did not.

-8-8-8-8-

"How the hell did you get up here in that dress and those shoes?" Kim demanded, sitting down next to Bonnie once more. Bonnie was at her spot, looking down on the lovely lights of Middleton and wishing the world would just swallow her whole.

Bonnie gave Kim a quick glance and a shrug. She had not thought about it when she walked over and up the plateau. She just did it.

Kim saddled up close, putting an arm around Bonnie's waist. "I know something's wrong. Tell me what's wrong, love."

Bonnie blinked. "Love? Do you love me?"

Kim smiled. "I know you don't want me to say it unless I'm sure, but were you sure when you said it?"

"Yes!" Bonnie blurted out.

Her smile grew. "Then tell me what's been bothering you. Is it Lance? Is it that he called you gay? Is it that people think you're gay?"

Bonnie growled. "It's not that people think I'm gay. I am gay. And, at this point, I don't give a damn who knows. I want to pick you up for dates and dance with you and hold your hand and fuck everybody who has a problem with it!"

Kim's brow furrowed and she shook her head a little. "Then why'd you get so upset with Lance?"

"Because he called me a dyke! I am not a dyke! I'm not!" Bonnie huffed, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Kim just held her tighter and offered her another smile. "Of course you're not. That's something he said to be purposely hurtful. It's a slur, you know?"

"I know." Bonnie rubbed her forehead. "I don't know why it always has that effect on me. I can't think straight and it just…" She sighed and gave Kim a sidelong glance. "My sisters called me that, you know?"

Kim blinked. "Your sisters?"

"Yeah. The day I met you, I came home all geared up, hyped, and just rambled on about you for so long. You were so amazing to me, even then." Bonnie paused to smile. "That was definitely the start of my crush, but when I told my sisters about it, they made fun of me. They called me… _that_ word repeatedly."

"God, baby, I am so sorry." Kim pulled her as close as possible and wrapped both arms around her. "I can't imagine what life has been like for you, but you know perfectly well that what's said in that house to you isn't the truth. They told you you were stupid and look at you now, steady with a B average. They told you you were ugly and you could have any person you want on looks alone. They told you you wouldn't amount to anything and yet you have dreams of going to college."

"What if that's all they are, dreams? Do you know how I used to get guys? Beyond making sure to look hot?" Bonnie asked. She wished she had known that would have been enough, but then again, she probably still would have done what she did.

For a moment, Kim looked away. "I have some idea, but I don't like to think about it." Her voice was low. This was clearly a subject she wanted away from, but Bonnie needed to talk about it.

"But, it was to prove to _them_ that I wasn't ugly, but I know that a guy will do and say a lot to get you to open your legs for him. I wanted them to tell me I was pretty and I wanted to believe them," Bonnie quivered. She swallowed down a sob.

"Bonnie…" Kim pulled her closer and kissed the side of her head. "You can tell me," she whispered.

Bonnie sniffled. "When I had dates… when I was with them… I felt like I was proving to my sisters I was pretty, but I always felt so ugly, Kim." Bonnie wrapped her arms around herself. "I felt so ugly…" her voice broke. She still felt so ugly a lot of the time, like she was rotting on the inside.

"You're not," Kim replied, kissing her cheek. "You're a beautiful person, inside and out. We're all on a journey, Bonnie. Sometimes, the journey's rough, but we find ourselves. You had a lot of obstacles ahead of you, but you've overcome and you're finding yourself. You're doing well. You know that, right?"

Bonnie shook her head. Some days she knew and other days, she had no idea. Some days, she felt on top of the world and then other days… she felt ugly. She felt awkward and stupid. She felt like she should just curl up into a ball and die on her floor.

"Bonnie, sweetheart, talk to me," Kim requested.

"I'm so broken, Kim. I don't know why you're with me. I'm never going to amount to anything. I'm going to end up pregnant and die right here in Middleton, having done nothing with my life except have kids with some bastard who hates me!" Bonnie sobbed, throwing herself onto Kim's body.

Kim cradled Bonnie to her, holding the back her head. Her fingers massaged Bonnie's scalp and there were light kisses to the side of Bonnie's head. Bonnie held onto Kim would both hands. This was the only thing good in her life. The only good thing that would ever happen to her and someday Kim would be gone.

"You are not broken, Bonnie. You're growing, like we all are. I need you to understand that. We're all growing. Some better and faster than others. You think so little of yourself and it amazes me because you're incredible. I have to keep telling you this and I'll keep doing it until your facade confidence is your actual confidence because you have something to be confident about," Kim commented, sounding a little amused.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Bonnie muttered through her tears. She shook her head and sniffled with her whole body shivering. Kim managed to just hold her tighter, as if to keep her together.

"That's just it, there's _nothing_ wrong with you. You're listening to all of these outside sources who don't know you. Could you imagine if I listened to some outside source who didn't know me? The second I said I was off to battle evil, they'd think I was mad and talk me out of it. You have to believe in yourself. You're more than worth it."

Bonnie sniffled and managed to stop crying. "Does it always hurt this much to grow?"

"They're called growing pains, sweetheart."

"And everyone experiences them?"

Kim nodded. "Some worse than others, but yeah. I mean, you remember my growing pains not too long ago. I was yelling at my parents and sneaking out the house and doing things not typical of me, but I wanted to be with you. Those were growing pains. They hurt less when I'm with you."

This got a smile out of Bonnie. "I hurt less when I'm with you."

"And you'll hurt less when you completely believe in yourself. I know you have good days and you have bad days, but I know it's because you still have to go home and hear all this negativity. But, like I keep telling you, you're amazing, sweetheart. You do amazing things and you'll keep doing amazing thing. The thing that makes it even bigger than you realize is that you do this without encouragement. I've got all this support and you just have you!"

Bonnie shook her head. "No, I have you."

Kim grinned and kissed Bonnie's cheek. "You damn sure do. And you're going to have me for however long you want, okay? I'm here."

And just as quickly as it happened, Bonnie's depression lifted. She felt better. Kim was right. She was trying to be the person she knew was inside of her. It was just so hard sometimes, but little by little she rose to the occasion. She grew… and had some pains with it.

"You know I love you, right?" Bonnie asked as she managed to stop crying.

Kim chuckled. "I never doubt it, ever since you first said it. In fact, I think you doubt it way more than I ever will."

"I never doubt I love you. Just…" Bonnie put her hand on her forehead. "It's a mess up here, you know? It gets muddled sometimes, but I think it's getting better." Maybe she needed to give herself time and keep reminding herself everything everyone said was not right. They did not know her or what was inside of her. Hell, she had only just recently met herself.

"I should hope so. You shouldn't let assholes get to you, Bonnie."

Bonnie laughed. "You said assholes."

Kim smiled. "I think you needed to hear it. Everyone who digs on you is trying to drag you down to their level because they know you'll rise. I mean, isn't that part of why you used to dig on me?"

Bonnie blinked. That was part of it. A part of her did not want Kim to succeed because she felt like it somehow made her less successful. So, instead of doing better, she pulled Kim down. But, that was what she had been taught to do, by her sisters, by her father. _I have to let those lessons go_.

"Things don't have to be that way, though," she realized. "We both can succeed at the same time."

A bright smile adorned Kim's face. "But, you know that already."

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, but I think it needed to be said." She sighed contently. "You know what else needs to be said?"

"Uh… we're gay?" Kim asked with a laugh.

Bonnie chuckled. "Hell, yeah, we're gay, but that's not what needs to be said. What does need to be said is…" Bonnie straightened herself out as best she could. "May I have this dance?"

"I'd be delighted." Kim climbed to her feet and helped Bonnie up. "Hold on." She pulled out her Kimmunicator and suddenly they had music.

Kim gathered Bonnie in her arms because of course she had to lead. Bonnie did not mind. They swayed together as if they had all the time in the world.

"This is the prom I wanted," Bonnie whispered.

"Well, there's always homecoming," Kim replied.

Bonnie pulled away to look Kim in the face. "Do you mean it?"

"No more hiding, no more beards, and no more running away. We can face everything head on, right?" Kim asked.

"You're damn right. I'm sorry for all of the trouble I put you through with this."

"It's fine, Bonnie. Growing pains, remember? Now, let's enjoy a dance together and then we can go to our cabin for a little while. I just have to be home by midnight or my dad will launch Ron into space, even though he knows we weren't on a real date."

Bonnie laughed. "Let's just go pick up Rufus after midnight." This actually got a smile out of Kim.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Butterfly

Suggesting they go to the junior prom with boys was terrible, Kim admitted this to herself. She felt like an idiot as soon as the words left her mouth, but Bonnie had been so freaked this was the best thing she could come up with. Besides, Ron did not count as a boy, not just because he was Ron, but also because he was dating Yori.

For a while, she was distracted from her stupidity thanks to Drakken. He had put his best foot forward and maybe his scheme would have worked if Kim cared about good looking boys anymore. Drakken threw Eric, who turned out to be synthodrone at her, to try to distract her while he modified Lil Diablo toys. She nipped it in the bud pretty quickly with more than enough time to get ready for the prom and get back to fretting over Bonnie being out with a boy and not just any boy with.

Chambers Wiltman was an arrogant, womanizing idiot on a good day. And, on this day, he had Kim's girl on his arm. Lucky bastard.

Seeing Bonnie with that jackass Chambers Wiltman was enough to make Kim's teeth itch. It had taken all of her willpower not to go break his arm when he touched Bonnie's ass. Ron managed to pull her in for food before she forgot herself. Plus, she could tell Bonnie was not happy about it, so she clearly was not on a real date or anything.

It was just a little troubling because she knew Chambers was someone Bonnie had… dated in the past. Kim's stomach twisted. Sure, Bonnie did not seem interested, even stepping on his foot to apparently hurt him, but… he had already had her beloved before. Kim really just wanted to deck him.

"Is it normal to want to punch a guy who's been with your girlfriend?" Kim asked Ron.

Ron glanced up from the food table to see who Kim meant. "When he's touching her ass and she looks like she wants to punch him herself, yeah. But, you can't do that since… well, you know."

Sighing, Kim nodded and did her best to not look Bonnie's way to avoid beating the crap out of Chambers. She held up with plenty of distractions around her, boys asking her to dance, friends complimenting her dress, and even a chance to "accidentally" spill punch on Lance, who almost threw a punch at her when it happened, but thought the better of it.

"This isn't over, Possible," he growled, pointing a threatening finger at her before going off to clean up. His date, a cheerleader, followed right behind him.

"I should hope not." Kim really wanted a chance to break his nose. She wanted to do something to take away his good looks, something to punish him forever for the way he treated Bonnie and so many other girls.

Eventually she saw Bonnie sitting with Tara. She knew she had to turn away because seeing Tara with Bonnie pissed her off more than seeing Chambers with Bonnie and Chambers had actually been inside Bonnie for crying out loud!

Turning away again, Kim was not sure what to do about the burning jealousy inside of her. She had a gorgeous girlfriend. People would try to chat up Bonnie for a long time, so she needed to learn to deal with it and trust that Bonnie meant it when she said she loved her.

Next thing she knew, Bonnie was gone. For a moment, she feared Bonnie disappeared with Tara, but she found Tara on the dance floor with Josh. Bonnie's date was occupied with a dozen girls, so Bonnie was not with him. And, then images of Bonnie's face flashed through her mind. While she was busy being jealous, Bonnie's heart was breaking.

"Ron, I gotta go," Kim said, breaking away from him.

"Bonnie?" Ron guessed.

Kim only nodded and then she was off. She knew right where to go and found Bonnie there. She felt like an ass when Bonnie said what was bothering her. While she was busy being jealous over stupid things and worrying over nothing, Bonnie was drowning again. She was all too happy to pull her from rough waters, though.

"I hate that people made you feel ugly," Kim whispered as she and Bonnie danced together.

"It's all right. Some of it, I did to myself, but I don't want to think about that anymore. I just want to dance with you," Bonnie replied, resting her head against Kim's shoulder.

"We have to take a prom picture, too," Kim said. She wanted to remember this moment, even if prom did not go exactly as planned.

Bonnie giggled. Really giggled. It made Kim's heart jump. It felt good to make Bonnie feel good and Kim was certain this was something she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

"Yes!" Bonnie managed to say. "Oh, but I need to fix my makeup first."

Kim smiled, but let Bonnie go, so she could fix her makeup as best she could. This gave Kim a moment to think about Bonnie crying on her. She wished there was some magical way to just fix everything for Bonnie, but she knew it would take time. It was just that everytime Bonnie had one of these moments, she needed to be there and help piece her back together. Eventually, Bonnie would understand and be able to carry herself as the awesome queen she was.

"I'm ready," Bonnie said.

Kim gasped, amazed at how Bonnie was able to fix her makeup. It was impossible to tell she had been crying not too long ago. Kim smiled as Bonnie gave her a somewhat shy look.

"You're beautiful, baby," Kim stated. It needed to be said. In fact, she needed to say it more often.

"I have to be at my best when I stand next to the prettiest girl in school," Bonnie commented.

Kim smiled. It was nice to hear, even though Bonnie made her feel beautiful all the time, inside and out. They pulled in close, Kim putting her arm around Bonnie's waist. Bonnie hugged Kim close and then they took a picture with the Kimmunicator. It was more than just a selfie, though. The Kimmunicator scanned them and took a full body shot.

"That's a good looking couple, right?" Bonnie said as she looked at the picture.

"They look like they're ready to take on the world," Kim replied and that was how she felt. She was ready to face anything with Bonnie by her side. "They look like they're in love."

"I am," Bonnie assured her.

"And I'm on my way." Although, Kim was fairly certain she loved Bonnie with all of her heart. She just wanted to tell Bonnie during a calm moment, so Bonnie did not think she was just saying it.

"Then, I guess we are ready to take on the world," Bonnie declared.

Kim nodded. "Now, may I have this next dance?" she requested with a grin.

"This one and everyone after it," Bonnie replied and they danced until Kim had to be home. It was a magical night.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Summer comes.


	23. School's Out

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

23: School's Out

Despite their resolution to come completely out of the closet, Kim and Bonnie did not really do it with the flare Bonnie would have liked. Maybe they just were not the type to flash and flare in public. They just did simple things, like hold hands in the hallway. Kim always walked her to class and carried her books. She kissed Kim on the cheek every time they parted. For some reason, this was amazing.

So, of course, there were rumors of them dating, but no one asked them outright. Lance tried to be a jackass about it, but Bonnie just jumped down his throat whenever he said anything, even if he used _that_ word. But, neither she nor Kim ever outright said anything and then school was over a couple of weeks later.

Summer was a whirlwind without them seeing as much of each other as they would have liked, but it was probably best that they were not joined at the hip. They did not want to chance getting sick of each other or feeling like they did not have a life apart from each other. Besides, they both had things to do and that was good.

Bonnie always made it a point to be out of the house during the summer, but it was a great idea this summer. Lonnie had heard about some of the rumors about her and Kim. She had some clumsy insults about it, but the worrisome thing came whenever Lonnie mentioned it in front of their parents.

"Lonnie, don't bring that nonsense in here," their mother always said. She frowned, like this was distasteful news.

"It better be nonsense," their dad always grumbled, giving Bonnie a glare that she supposed was meant to keep her on the straight and narrow. She wondered if he suspected her.

Bonnie did not want to hear that for two months. So, she actually got a job for the summer, which Kim helped her get. She taught cheerleading, gymnastics, and dance at a local camp. It consumed her "work" week, lasting from nine to five. It was fun, but tiring and Kim understood she was exhausted much of the time.

Kim did her usual thing over the summer, as well. But, along with the usual darting all over the world, she volunteered for a lot of programs involving children. They got together on the weekends, but mostly just watched movies in Kim's room. Plus, their little cabin was now occupied by the rightful owner, who spent the summer fishing. Bonnie actually liked the change of pace, though.

There was something about not seeing each other all the time that made seeing Kim even better. Bonnie hated to think "absence makes the heart grow fonder" was a thing, but maybe it was. Either way, she felt pretty chill for the summer.

"You want to go to the beach?" Kim asked Bonnie. They were in her room, sitting on her floor. Well, Kim was sitting, but Bonnie was pretty much lying in her lap.

"I think I want to go to sleep," Bonnie answered honestly, curling up into Kim. It was nice to work, knowing she would not have to rely on her father for money, but she was so tired.

Kim chuckled and leaned down, placing a kiss to Bonnie's forehead. "Then sleep, lovely." She ran her fingers through Bonnie's hair, knowing it would cause her to drift off.

This was their norm for the summer really. They went on a couple of dates, but not much. They were both too busy and Bonnie ended up fairly tired all the time. In the end, though, Bonnie was happy to have money in her pockets. Working with kids also helped prove she was actually improving as a person.

She was not cross or short with the kids. She had patience that shocked herself every time she exercised it. She liked working with them, though. It was wonderful to see so much excitement over these things she loved. Their excitement made her excited and she had wonder if this was how life was supposed to be.

For the first time in a long time, Bonnie did not feel angry or like she was not enough. She did not need to lash out. She felt peace and it was unbelievable. Every time she told Kim about it, Kim just laughed, like she thought it was ridiculous Bonnie did not know this. When Bonnie had energy, she tickled Kim until Kim turned the tides and tickled her back. Bonnie was extremely ticklish.

"You up?" Kim asked. It felt like minutes later, but the room was bathed in artificial light, so Bonnie knew it was late.

"Yeah," Bonnie yawned. She noticed she was in bed and Kim stood over her. She resisted the urge to bury her nose in a pillow and breathe Kim in.

"You okay? I didn't want to wake you up because you looked so cute," Kim commented with a smile.

Bonnie chuckled. "Yeah, that's not creepy." Of course, it was nice to know Kim watched her when she slept.

"Mom made a real light dinner tonight, so I didn't think it was worth waking you for. You could actually just eat it while I take you home. It's just tuna melts and fries," Kim explained.

"I'm not ready to go home yet. Can you cuddle me?" Bonnie whined just a little. She was exhausted.

"Okay, but if Mom comes in here you're explaining it," Kim joked. Or at least Bonnie hoped she was joking.

Kim settled in next to Bonnie and pulled her close. This was something else they did over the summer, but usually while watching a movie. Snuggling was always awesome. They just cuddled for a few minutes and then Kim walked Bonnie home.

Bonnie basically only slept at home. It was nice. She did not have to put up with the anger and tension at home. She almost never saw her father and therefore did not have to hear his voice. It made her feel light and free… until Connie showed up one day at her job.

"This is quaint," Connie commented as she stepped into the small gym area.

Bonnie turned with wide eyes. "Connie, what are you doing here?" she demanded. Then, she turned back to her kids. "Guys, go play with the gym stuff," she directed the kids, waving them in the direction of the gym equipment. The kids ran off, undoubtedly excited to tumble on the mats and try to conquer the horse or uneven bars.

"I didn't think you were actually working with little kids, but I guess Aunt Sonni was right," Connie said.

Internally, Bonnie groaned. _Why did Sonni tell her where I work?_ Just when she thought it was safe to let her one sane family member in on little changes in her life, this happened. Well, she would not be telling Sonni anything else big… not that she had much else to tell. Internally, she groaned. _I have zero life now_. _Of course, I couldn't have had much of a life to begin with if my aunt is playing the role of my BFF_. _Well, former BFF if she's telling demons like Connie where to find me_.

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie demanded, stomping over to her sister. The taps of her bare feet echoed on the hardwood of the gym floor, over the sounds of the laughing children.

"I just wanted to see where you were working. Plus, Mom's worried about you. She hasn't seen you in a couple of weeks, she said," Connie reported.

Bonnie scowled and folded her arms across her chest. "Mom has seen me plenty."

"For thirty seconds as you're grabbing breakfast and then running out of the house. She's worried," Connie repeated.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "And you were all too happy to come check on me?" _Bullshit_. Something was up.

Connie shrugged. "You're near my internship."

"And you're, oh so altruistic, especially when Mom is worried, right?" Bonnie scoffed, but oddly enough, Connie smiled.

"You know it makes no difference to me. You'd think it'd make a difference to you. After all, isn't Mom the only one in the house who gives a shit where you are half the time?" Connie pointed out drolly.

Bonnie snorted through her nose as a sneer tugged at the corner of her top lip. "Yeah, because someone has to get the attention Dad doesn't want. Someone has to love Mom unconditionally, right?" As the words left her mouth, Bonnie was not even sure if she was being biting or not. Yeah, her mom was embarrassing, annoying, treated her like a baby, and did not stand up for her, but… well, she kind of did love her mom unconditionally.

"I didn't come here to argue about Mom or anything. I just wanted you to know Mom's worried about you because she hasn't see you in a while. The only reason she knows you come home at night is because you don't make your bed, so it's messy in a bunch of different ways. Maybe you wanna cut her a break?"

"What's in it for you? Mom promise you something if you come and check on me?" Bonnie inquired. A bribe was the only way to explain it.

Connie glanced away, as if bored, and shrugged once more. "Maybe I just wanted to see my little sister. I haven't seen you at all this month."

Scoffing again, Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Why don't you go hang out with your favorite idiot? We both know that's the sister you like."

"And you like neither sister, correct?"

"What's there to like? Now, I've got kids to teach." Bonnie motioned behind her. "You can tell Mom I'm not dead or hooking or whatever the hell she thinks is up," she huffed.

Thankfully, Connie left on that note. Bonnie got back to her kids, but of course, as soon as she got the chance she told Kim about the visit. She did not know why because Kim tried not to feed her paranoia. Instead, Kim tried to fill her with stupid hope.

"Maybe Connie's reaching out for you, so she made an excuse to come and see you," Kim said. Again, they were in her room with Bonnie resting her head in Kim's lap. Kim ran her fingers through Bonnie's hair.

Bonnie snorted. "Or maybe she's sniffing around trying to find out if Lonnie's telling the truth."

"She's sniffing around your job to find out if you're gay? Doesn't seem like very good detective work," Kim pointed out.

Bonnie hummed and then frowned slightly. "Yeah, she'd be smarter than that." Sighing, she rubbed her face with one hand. "Well, maybe she's acting all friendly and concerned to get me to talk to her and then just blurt it out."

Kim's forehead wrinkled a little. "Baby, why do you even care? We're not exactly trying to hide anymore."

"No, I know. It's just… I don't like the sneaky shit with them. It's always something. They're always talking about me, putting me down, putting down the things I do, and all of this crap. I just want to handle this one thing on my own terms." Not to mention, Bonnie was actually a little afraid of how her parents might react. Even her mother, who was usually on her side no matter, seemed to pause a little whenever Lonnie commented on her sexuality.

Kim nodded. "I can see your point. Maybe you shouldn't engage them, then. Do something different. It might throw them off their game and you could figure out what they're up to."

Bonnie sighed. "You know, I've never thought of that." That might actually work. Connie probably would never see that coming.

"I know. You face everything head on. Get in its face and just overpower it." Kim smiled a little.

Bonnie smiled back. "Hey, it works."

Kim laughed. "Yeah, it does, but when it doesn't, you should change your strategy. You know that. I think it would throw your sisters off, too, if you stopped reacting to them. What does it matter anyway, right?"

Bonnie nodded. This was true. "I knew I kept you around for something."

This got a huge laugh from Kim. "That's why? Really?"

"And you're pretty to look at."

There was more laughter. The sound was like honey for Bonnie. No matter how horrible her family was or how annoying they were, they could not take Kim from her. So, everything would be fine in a way.

Bonnie stayed around, eating dinner with the Possibles, and going out for a walk with Kim. Kim, thankfully, had a later curfew in the summer. It was possible that her parents was trying to give her more free time by extending her curfew. Kim made use of it, hanging out with Bonnie until she had to go home.

"We need to go on a date soon," Kim decided, holding onto Bonnie's hand as they strolled down the street.

"Maybe this weekend," Bonnie agreed. She was content with what they had now, but dates were always a good thing. They needed to spend time together outside of Kim's room.

"Want to see a movie?"

"Are we leaving Ron at home?"

Kim chuckled. "Yes. It's a date, not friends hanging out. Of course, if we get Felix to come, then it could be a double date."

Now, Bonnie laughed. "Oh, I think I'm rubbing off on you. That was mean."

Kim's face twisted a little. "Yeah, it was. It's okay, though. They'd laugh it off. They love the little bromance they got going on. One day you have to meet Felix."

"But, not this weekend."

"No, definitely not this weekend. This weekend is just about us."

"Okay, just making sure. It's good to leave the kids at home sometimes," Bonnie joked. It was also good to have everything be fine for once. Yeah, her family sucked, but they always did. Everything else was great, though.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie was at lunch at work, but was not really eating. Her sandwich sat next to her while she texted with Kim, who was halfway around the world at the moment, helping flood victims. And then her happy moment was gone as Connie sat down next to her on a bench in the courtyard.

"You texting a boyfriend?" Connie asked.

"I've got regular friends, you know," Bonnie replied, feeling like Connie was subtly calling her a whore.

"Those the friends you're out all night with?"

Bonnie shrugged. _Don't engage_. Of course, it was hard to fight against a lifetime of training, years of battling back, years of trying to prove her sisters wrong, but she managed it. She kept her eyes on her phone, glancing over only to find her sandwich. She took a bite and waited for Kim's reply.

"Where have you been spending most of you time? Mom's still asking me about, like I'm supposed to know. Lonnie keeps insisting you're bunked up with your girlfriend," Connie commented.

"I come home," Bonnie replied. She slept in her bed, mostly because that was the only place she could sleep. If she could find somewhere else to sleep, she would. Any place was better than being at home, listening to Lonnie, having both parents look at her like they did not know who she was (not that either of them did), and knowing her father was coming closer and closer to accusing her of being just what Lonnie said she was.

"That you do," Connie agreed. "Why?"

The question paused Bonnie for a moment. Why would Connie ask her that? It was not like she had options. She was only seventeen.

"Why do you?" Bonnie countered. This was more pressing to her than anything else Connie could ever say. She would never understand why her sisters stayed in the house. Sure, they stayed out sometimes, but ultimately, they always returned home. Why? To what end?

Connie actually laughed. "I've had so many people ask me that."

"And what do you answer?"

Connie was silent for a long time. "I don't know."

"So, you thought I had the answer?" _I don't think she's as smart as she claims to be or I believe her to be_.

Connie scoffed. "Well, Lonnie certainly doesn't have the answer."

Bonnie chuckled. "No, she doesn't, but I'm only seventeen. I have a year of high school left. You're in college. You're about to be a junior. Why stick around in a madhouse? Hell, Dad screams at you the most."

It had always been that way. His energy toward Connie used to be almost frantic, especially when she was in high school. He viciously, savagely tore down everything she did. In return, she eagerly, devotedly tore down everything Bonnie did, especially anything she was good at.

Connie shrugged. "There's a method to his madness."

Bonnie scoffed. "I think that's scotch and beer, but okay."

There was a brief nod. "No, there's that and it's not a lot of method. I'm just saying, there's a reason why he yells so much and why he yells at me the most. He looks at me and thinks I'm the one who's going to escape. He thought he'd walk this path I'm on, but then Mom got pregnant."

Bonnie nodded. That made sense. It also made sense why he was always putting her and Lonnie down, swearing they would never go anywhere. He did not want them to go anywhere because he did not go anywhere. _What a bitter bastard_.

"And he's hard on Lonnie because she's the reason he didn't go anywhere as far as he's concerned," Connie continued.

"He thinks I'm Lonnie a lot," Bonnie said.

"The bleach blond must be throwing him off… and the alcohol has had to kill a lot of brain cells."

"I don't get it. It's not like his life sucks. Mom would do anything for him. She keeps a clean house, cooks good, loves him despite the fact that he's an insensitive ass. Plus, his job's good. He can afford a house, take care of three kids financially anyway, and occasionally give us money when he's in a good mood." Bonnie did not understand him.

Connie shook her head. "I think for him, it's more about this fantasy in his head." She tapped her temple with her index finger. "He'll never realize it, therefore it'll always be better than the life he has now."

"And that's why you stay? Because you've figured out why Dad's a psychopath on most days?" Bonnie asked.

"No, of course not. I'm not sure why." Connie gave her a long look. "Maybe because it's all I know."

"You need to experience more than." Bonnie would run and never look back the first moment she got. She was not sure if she would be able to do it in college since her father already shot down her having sort of college fund, but she would do something.

Connie actually made a noise that sounded like an agreement. Bonnie did not know what to think of that. This was definitely a conversation to have with Kim later.

"Do you talk about this stuff with your friends?" Bonnie found herself asking.

"I try not to let my friends know about the madhouse we call home," Connie replied.

There was a moment of silence. "Me, too," Bonnie eventually said.

"But, someone knows?"

Bonnie gave her sister a sidelong glance. What would make Connie guess that? This whole conversation was bizarre and seemed to get stranger by the moment.

"Why are you trying to have this bonding moment with me?" Bonnie asked. Actually talking with Connie made her a little uneasy. It was not her usual suspicion of her sisters. This was something she could not quite put her finger on, but she was not in the mood to contemplate it.

Connie smiled. "You're going to forget all about us the moment you can, right?"

"Jealous?" Not that it made any sense for Connie to be. Connie could be gone right now, but she stayed.

Sighing, Connie looked at the sky for a moment. "Maybe."

Rolling her eyes, Bonnie snorted. "You're full of it."

"I wish I was. I think…" Connie looked at her. "Nah, you wouldn't believe me. I should get back to work."

Bonnie did not say anything and her big sister was gone. She turned her attention back to her phone and texted Kim pretty much everything that just happened. Kim was very much in favor of the idea that Connie might be trying to connect with her just because they were sisters. Bonnie did not buy it, though.

Thankfully, a second opinion came out of nowhere. Tara popped up early in the afternoon. She had a job at a day camp a few blocks away. Tara loved it, but the way she talked about it, Bonnie was happy she worked with her kids and not the ones Tara had. Bonnie gave her ten kids a routine to work on while she spoke with Tara.

"Hey, Bonnie. There's a new juice bar nearby. You wanna go?" Tara asked with a smile.

"Juice bar? Not at the frozen yogurt spot," Bonnie hoped. It was too hot to lose frozen yogurt to a juice bar… and Kim liked taking her to that frozen yogurt place after work.

"No, it's in the opposite direction. Hey, walking over here, I saw your sister," Tara said. "I waved and she said she works near here."

Bonnie frowned. "Yeah, she does. She's been over here bothering me."

Tara scowled a little. While she did not know the extent of Bonnie's troubles with her sisters, Tara had heard them talk about Bonnie every now and then. She had also heard Bonnie talk about her sisters enough to know there was no love lost there.

"What did she want?" Tara asked, cutting her eyes in the direction of where Connie worked.

"Just to talk or something."

Tara nodded. "That's weird. But, what's up with the juice bar? You wanna come with me or are you gonna wait for Kim?"

Bonnie's forehead furrowed. "Wait for Kim?"

"Yeah, you're besties and all now. I mean, you put together a bunch of cheer routines that starred her and you're always together. Hell, I've seen you guys holding hands and everything," Tara replied.

"Okay, you caught us." There was no need to deny it. After all, she and Kim were supposed to be coming out anyway.

"It's no big deal." Tara shrugged. "I think it's nice you and Kim are friends and everything. I mean, I miss hanging out with you, but you're definitely better now and I can tell you're happy and stuff."

Bonnie smiled. "Thanks, Tara. I didn't mean to shut you out."

Tara grinned. "Then juice bar?"

Sighing, Bonnie decided to give in. Tara was a good person, someone worth hanging onto. Plus, she needed friends beyond Kim and Ron. She did not want to crowd them.

"Juice bar after work. Hopefully, we won't run into my sister there," Bonnie said.

"Yeah, that would be weird and maybe even a little uncomfortable," Tara agreed. Bonnie was happy she was not the only one who thought so, but Connie's visit stayed on her mind.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie decided to go home early, just to see what Connie kept going on about. Her mother practically tackled her at the door, crying with dramatic flare. Bonnie grunted on impact, but returned the hug.

"Oh, Bon-Bon, it's good to see you!"

"You saw me this morning, Mom," Bonnie pointed out. Her mother saw her a lot of mornings, so she did not understand why her mother kept sending Connie to check on her.

"Yes, I know, but I miss my baby so much!" her mother cooed, as if talking to an actual baby. She then had the nerve to press their cheeks together.

Bonnie tried to escape without throwing her mother off of her, but her mother had a good grip. _A professional clinger_. Bonnie could not help groaning.

"I hope you don't think you're eating, coming in this late. Your mother already put the food away," her father barked from the living room.

"Don't worry, Bon-Bon. I can make you a sandwich," her mother assured her with a bright smile.

Bonnie shook her head. "I ate already." It was almost eleven at night.

"Was your girlfriend there?" Lonnie remarked, coming down the stairs. She was dressed to kill as usual, probably going out on a date or clubbing with her friends. That was pretty much the way she spent her nights.

"No, but your common sense was there, enjoying its freedom," Bonnie bit back.

Lonnie glared, as if she got that one. Of course, she could just be pissed that Bonnie had a comeback. "With your girlfriend?"

"With your boyfriend," Bonnie shot back.

Now, Lonnie frowned. "You wish. We all know you've gone down dyke road."

"Your sister knows better," their father called from his spot.

Bonnie snorted. No, she really did not know better. There was no need to say that, though. She just wanted to go to her room and fall into her bed now that her mother saw she was not dead. Her job wore her out and the heat of the day did not help. Not to mention, she had gone on a quick beach trip with Kim and Ron after she and Tara hung out for a while. She just wanted sleep, so she started for the stairs.

"You hiding your girlfriend up there, Bonnie?" Lonnie called.

"No, I'm sneaking out to see your boyfriend," Bonnie shot back. Lonnie was too easy.

"Girls," her mother said, obviously hoping to calm the situation. But, once Bonnie got to her room the situation was done.

After having a couple of weak conversations with Connie, Bonnie wondered about Lonnie. Lonnie should have been the first of them out of the house, but she was still there. It was surprising she had not ended up pregnant yet, like their father seemed to think was the fate of all of them. Bonnie was not sure how she was doing in beauty school, but she knew Lonnie made money by doing makeup and hair for people, even though she was not a professional yet. She could move out, probably get an apartment with friends, but she was still at the house. Why?

"They don't make sense," Bonnie decided about her sisters.

Connie and Lonnie should be gone. Maybe they could pop by the house to see their mom every now and then and get a free meal, but they should have moved out. Why stick around? Lonnie probably stuck around because of Connie. Bonnie just could not see Lonnie figuring out she did not have to live in the house unless someone showed her that she did not have to. Bonnie could not be the one, so Connie was the obvious candidate, but Connie was still here. For reasons unknown.

Bonnie consciously dismissed all of this. She did not have the answers either. She just knew that when it was her time, she would not dawdle. She would not dwell. She would pack up and go. Yes, she would come back to see her mother, celebrate holidays, and things like that, but she would not look back. She would be free.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: And So Are We

It was midnight and Kim really wanted to call Bonnie, but she knew Bonnie was asleep. It was a good day, even though Bonnie expressed a little trepidation thanks to a visit from Connie. And… Kim was a little jealous about Bonnie hanging out with Tara before she picked Bonnie up.

"Gotta work on that," Kim muttered, turning over onto her side. She buried her face into her pillow.

She was very aware Bonnie with her for the long haul, but still, seeing Bonnie close to another girl just rubbed her the wrong way. She understood Bonnie needed friends, though. She had Ron, so Bonnie could have Tara. She just had to stop thinking Tara was trying to get close to her sweetheart.

"Hey, babe, you up?" Kim asked, calling Bonnie before she even realized it.

"And thinking about you," Bonnie replied in a purr.

Kim shivered. "Don't sound like that."

"Like what?" Bonnie did it again. "I really want to cuddle up to you… naked."

"Oh, my god, Bonnie, stop talking." _What the hell was I jealous for again?_

Bonnie laughed. "You're too easy."

"Oh, please, if I started talking about how I want to kiss your neck and touch you all over, you'd be melting, too," Kim shot back.

"Okay, you're right. No saying those things until we can actually do them again. That guy needs to get out of our cabin, dammit."

Kim wanted to laugh, but she understood Bonnie's frustration too well. While they had managed a little fooling around during the summer, it definitely was not as much as they would like.

"How are things with your sister?" This would be a nice bucket of cold water for them.

Bonnie scoffed. "Which one?"

"Both of them, huh? You sure they're not just trying to bond?" Kim was a little hopeful. She worried this might be her with her brothers eventually. Sure, they were pains in the ass, but she never wanted them to think she hated them… even though she did not like them very much.

"Lonnie definitely isn't and I took your advice with Connie, but I'm just more confused. I don't get her and it's making me antsy. Thank God prom already passed or I'd think she was gonna cover me in pig's blood."

"Just be aware she'd have a serious ass kicking coming to her should that ever happen." While Kim was all about thinking positive and hoping for the best, if someone really hurt Bonnie, she would not allow them to get away with it.

"My hero." Bonnie yawned.

"You should go to bed. You've gotta get up early for work."

"I'll see you tomorrow. Love you."

The statement made a stupid smile spread on Kim's face and she melted. "I love you, too." It felt nice to say. She did not even have to think about it.

Bonnie gasped. "You do?"

"I do." Kim thought about it for a moment and then decided to keep going. "You know I see a future with you, right? I want to be able to cuddle you at night. I want to wake up to you in the morning. I want to be the person who makes things okay for you."

"You already do make things okay for me."

Kim smiled. Yeah, there was definitely no reason to be jealous of Tara. But, she wanted to figure out how to help Bonnie with her sisters. For now, she would let Bonnie sleep and she would just imagine a future with them together.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: coming out fully and completely.


	24. Coming Out

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

24: Coming Out

When school started, Bonnie was the one who accidentally outed them. It was really a habit that was the confirmation for everyone around them. She and Kim walked into school holding hands, but they had done that at the end of the last school year. What Bonnie did was lean in for a real kiss when they were set to part ways, which was something they had done all summer long. Kim did not pull away or flinch or anything. It was nothing scandalous really. Bonnie had definitely done worse with boys in the hallway.

"Have a good day, sweetheart," Bonnie said as they broke from the kiss.

Kim beamed. "You, too, baby. I'll try to get you after class, but if not, you can meet me at the lockers, okay?"

Bonnie nodded in agreement and then went into her homeroom. Other people rushed inside to make sure the people already in the class knew they had just witnessed Bonnie kiss Kim in the hallway. Bonnie ignored all of the commotion and found a suitable seat by the window. _Whatever_.

Of course, she knew "whatever" would not cut it. The homeroom teacher could barely get through the attendance because everyone had something to say to Bonnie. They crowded around her like she was just going to spill her heart and soul to them. _Idiots_. Bonnie could not even figure out what they were saying because everyone was talking over each other. It was just an awful noise. The teacher actually gave her a desperate look and Bonnie shrugged. What the hell was she supposed to do about this foolishness?

"You're the one with the degree and the damn paycheck," Bonnie hissed at the teacher if only to get the woman to stop looking at her like this was all her fault.

The teacher had the nerve to throw her hands up and ended up screaming to get everyone's attention. It did not work. The students listened for a couple of names and then went back to acting like morons in front of Bonnie. Like she would answer any of their stupid, and somewhat perverted, questions. As if she would tell them who was on top?

Bonnie could not wait to get out of the class, but the hallway was ripe with news as well. _Damn texting to Hell_. Bonnie ignored it, going to her first period class — economics. This was one of those classes she could already see herself wondering why the hell she had to take it, but here she was. She would do her best, but hopefully, the colleges she wanted to apply to would not bother with this term. Not that she would slack, but she was not sure what the term held.

Well, beyond whispers and rumors now. Those were definitely going to get around, but whatever. She did not care, which was why when class was over and Kim was waiting for her, she took Kim's hand in hers. Kim greeted her with a kiss.

"Look at the dykes!" some idiot shouted. A bunch of other morons pointed at them.

Bonnie tensed at the word, but Kim kept her calm. Kim put her arm around Bonnie's waist and pulled her close. This was enough for Bonnie to shrug off the words. It did not matter. She had Kim, she was going to college hopefully, and she would probably never see these people again after this year. A school year worth of ridicule? She scoffed. Whatever. She had lived a whole life of that already.

"So, how's the day going?" Kim asked.

"There's a lot of talk. I assume it's the same with you," Bonnie replied.

"Yeah, lots of talk and stupid questions. But, I honestly don't give a damn. I'm happy we're together." Kim gave her hand a squeeze.

"Me, too," Bonnie replied.

So, Kim walked her to class and they kissed again. Surprisingly enough, this got just as much fervor as the first one. Maybe it was because these guys did not see the first one, but whatever. Bonnie did not care. Unfortunately, she seemed to be the only one who did not care.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tara practically shouted, popping up in Bonnie's face as soon as she stepped into class. Teal eyes were wide and shining with unshed tears.

Bonnie jumped back. "Tara, what the hell?"

"Looks like we're in science together! Now, why didn't you tell me about you and Kim? Although, I mean, it makes sense now that I think about it," Tara replied, a finger on her chin.

"Does it?" Bonnie moved past Tara and looked for a seat. Everyone else just watched her, murmuring to each other.

"Of course it does! So, when did it happen?" Tara asked, as if this was all completely normal.

Bonnie waved her off. "I'll tell you later." Maybe she would actually stick to this. It was nice to see Tara was not turned off or disgusted. The way Tara looked at her at the moment, dating Kim might as well have been Bonnie getting a new pair of shoes —something new and fun.

"Don't try to brush me off. I'm not dropping this," Tara promised, sitting next to Bonnie.

Now, Bonnie had to hope Tara could be quiet for the next forty minutes and she could make her escape before Tara started up. She definitely would not be telling the tale of how she and Kim got together in school. There was enough talk as it was.

-8-8-8-8-

School was annoying to be sure, but the couple managed to make it through the day without killing anyone. Bonnie chalked that up as a minor miracle for herself, especially with Tara following her around, while Kim got a pass for the simple fact that she had to leave school at around ten to save the world. After school, with the world saved and cheerleading practice impossible, the couple retired to Kim's room.

"Monique's waiting for you to dump me now that this is all out in the air," Kim reported.

They were on her bed. Kim leaned against the headboard with Bonnie settled on her chest. Bonnie liked lying in this manner. She could feel Kim's heartbeat against her and both of Kim's arms around her. It was like being blanketed in love.

Bonnie shook her head. "She's never going to let it go, is she?"

Kim snorted and her hands wandered to Bonnie's stomach. "Nope, but she didn't say anything nasty about you, so I let it go. Ron thinks the world's going to end now that everyone knows we're together."

Bonnie nodded and tried to cuddle closer to Kim. Sighing, for a moment, she just enjoyed the closeness and the fact that if the Possibles saw them like this, they would not automatically think they were about to bang each other or something. It was good to be trusted.

"Is that why I didn't see him today? He's waiting for the nuclear fallout?" Bonnie asked.

"Nah, he was hiding from any questions. He's a bit of a gossip, you know, and he's not below making stuff up if people get him talking. He's scared he'll say the wrong thing and then you'll eat him," Kim laughed.

Rolling her eyes, Bonnie snorted. "I would. He better not start any rumors about us, by accident or otherwise. Everyone else will have that well in hand."

After all, by the time they left school, it had already been going around that they had been dating for years and all of Bonnie's hostility toward Kim was actually a lover's tiff. There was also the one with Bonnie having slept with so many guys because she was actually _trying_ to get pregnant, so she and Kim could raise the baby. _People are fucking stupid_.

"Have you heard any of the rumors?" Kim asked.

"Of course you'd miss all of them. You want to hear ones that are so stupid they make me want to throw up or just any old rumor?"

Kim thought about it for a second. "Maybe I should just leave it alone."

"Trust me, you've made the right decision. We go to school with stupid monkeys."

Kim nodded. "I wonder if this is how stars feel with paparazzi."

Bonnie was certain it had to be just as annoying. All day, she had people coming up to her, asking her about Kim, her sexuality, and a lot of inappropriate things, like if she would have a threesome with more guys than she liked to think about. Surprisingly enough, Lance, who still had not graduated, had been silent on the matter. He probably figured out that Bonnie would tear him to shreds if he opened his mouth or he knew Kim would slaughter him if opened his mouth. Hopefully, everyone else would get that idea and steer clear of them tomorrow.

-8-8-8-8-

The next day at school was more of the same. Bonnie met Kim at her locker after one of her classes, just needing something to calm her down. Kim recognized it immediately, gathered her into a hug and kissed her cheek. Bonnie practically fell against Kim.

"I'm so sick of these people already," Bonnie huffed as Kim's hand went to her back.

"I heard you caused a scene in your physics class," Kim chuckled, rubbing in between Bonnie's shoulder blades.

"There were idiots in there making comments poorly disguised as physics jokes, thinking I was too stupid to figure it out. Hell, yeah, I caused a scene. I'm not letting them talk about you," Bonnie stated. She really just wanted to forget her morning classes. Talking about her was one thing, but talking about Kim made her want to kick asses. It did not help that Tara was there, egging her on to shred pretty much anyone who opened his mouth.

"Aw, you were defending my honor?" Kim teased.

Bonnie pulled away just to glare at Kim. "Don't get cute, Possible."

Kim smirked. "You know you like me cute. But, it's not all bad."

Bonnie's brow wrinkled. "What do you mean it's not all bad? This is so annoying!"

"Yeah, but you'll notice there's actually a change in the hallway."

Bonnie shook her head, not following. Kim just motioned to the hallway. Bonnie looked out and did not see what Kim was talking about at first. Just as she was about to snap at Kim for wasting her time, she noticed it. There were two boys holding hands, walking to class.

"What the hell…?" Bonnie murmured. She rubbed her eyes, thinking maybe she was seeing things.

Kim smiled. "You did that."

"I did that?" Bonnie's brow wrinkled. "How the hell did I do that?"

"You kissed me yesterday and you made it okay to be gay in the hallway. You're a hero," Kim replied.

Bonnie scoffed. "I'm a hero? Tell that to the poor crying bastards in my physics class." She jabbed her thumb in the direction of her class. Well, she hoped they were still crying.

Kim laughed, even though Bonnie was dead serious. She would never classify herself as a hero, especially not for something she had not even meant to do. Kissing Kim yesterday was just a habit, a pleasant habit, but it was not like she planned it. It was not a staged act of defiance. She had not saved any lives or anything.

"You made it safe for kids to express themselves. That's incredible," Kim said.

"I didn't make it safe. Why the hell would I be the bar for that? If anything, you should be the standard," Bonnie argued, poking Kim in the ribs.

"You made it safe because you're popular. If Bonnie Rockwaller, the Queen of Middleton High, can be openly gay, then it must not be quite so bad," Kim replied with a shrug.

Bonnie was set to retort, but the discussion was interrupted by an idiot. "Hey, why don't you fags move to Gaytown with that shit!" a moron called to the retreating male couple.

"Hey, why don't you take your stupidity back to Idiotville, you fucking douche!" Bonnie barked automatically.

The homophobe turned and looked, as if he was about to challenge her. But, then he saw who was speaking to him. He actually gulped.

"Yeah, move along before I let the hall know your brain isn't the only small thing about you," Bonnie said to him. He wisely fled. The couple turned and smiled at her. She waved them along.

"Tell me again how you aren't a hero?" Kim offered her a taunting smile.

Bonnie scoffed and decided to go to class before she said something mean to Kim for being just as annoying as everyone else. She gave Kim a kiss and moved along. She could hear Kim laughing as she left.

"Stop being cute, Possible," Bonnie called over her shoulder.

"You like me this way!" Kim laughed more.

-8-8-8-8-

"So, Bonnie, I hear you're using your powers for good," Ron remarked with a smile as he walked with Kim and Bonnie to cheer practice. She glared at him and he flinched, holding his hands up in surrender. "Okay, maybe not."

"I just called an idiot out for being an idiot," Bonnie argued.

"Uh… I thought it was more than one idiot in the lunchroom," Ron commented.

Bonnie groaned, just wanting to forget the lunchroom incident. _God, I'm busy today_. "Maybe I should just bring a bat to school. I can knock some sense into a bunch of people."

Ron snickered. "You and your bat can join the GSA."

Bonnie arched an eyebrow. "The GSA?" What the hell was that?

Kim looked at Bonnie. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not. What the hell is the GSA?" Bonnie asked.

"The Gay-Straight Alliance. It's basically a club for gay kids in the school and straight kids who support them," Kim explained.

"There's been something like that at school the whole time we've been here?" Bonnie inquired and then she pointed at both of them. "And don't say anything smart. Just answer the question."

Kim and Ron straightened up, but tittered just a little. "Yes, it has," Kim managed to answer.

"I would like to see," Bonnie found herself saying. She was curious… or interested. She was not sure which, but something inside of her needed to see this club, needed to confirm its existence.

Kim agreed. They went to cheer practice, which was awkward now. There were a couple of girls who did not want Kim or Bonnie to touch them. Not having time for this nonsense, the coach ordered those girls to either get their acts together or get off the team. Not ready to give up the prestige of the team yet, the girls stopped acting so high and mighty, but they still gave the couple stank looks. Kim and Bonnie did not care. They did what they had to do and then got halted by more stupidity.

"Maybe you guys can shower after us?" Jessica suggested as everyone walked toward the locker room after practice.

"You're kidding," Kim deadpanned.

"Is everyone just taking stupid pills today?" Bonnie screamed, throwing her hands up in the air. "I thought we'd at least be able to count on you guys to act normal, but no, of course that'd be too easy! Thank you for proving I shouldn't have faith in humanity like ever!"

The other cheerleaders flinched, apparently not expecting Bonnie to explode. She was not sure why that was. She had done so all day. Who the hell liked being discriminated against, after all? Besides, she had Kim. Why the hell would she want to bother looking at these bitches?

"You guys are all acting silly," Tara giggled, hooking her arms around Kim's arm and Bonnie's arm. "Come on." She dragged Kim and Bonnie into the locker room as if it was a normal day. Leave it to Tara to try to make everything okay by pretending everything was okay.

The other cheerleaders did not argue with that. There was some grumbling, but no one objected to Bonnie and Kim being there. Bonnie and Kim did not bother to look at anyone, not wanting to pretend everything was fine. Tara talked the whole time, though, forcing normalcy on everyone. It actually just made everything awkward in a different way, but Tara powered on. God bless her.

"Tara's a good one," Kim commented as they finished getting dressed. Her voice was low, as if she just realized this or something.

"She is," Bonnie agreed.

Kim took a deep breath. "You're lucky to have her for a best friend."

Bonnie could not argue that one. She had never really considered Tara her best friend, but she damn sure was one of the best people Bonnie knew. Maybe Tara was her best friend, or at the very least on her way there. At least now, Bonnie knew how to treasure such a thing.

"You still want to go see the GSA?" Kim asked, putting an arm around Bonnie as they hit the school's hallway.

Bonnie only nodded. Kim seemed to know the way and led Bonnie there with no problem. The room was sort of out of the way. A corner classroom in the art wing. Bonnie looked in the window to see a couple of people were inside.

"You wanna go in?" Kim asked and Bonnie answered by opening the door.

"We want to join," Bonnie declared, catching the attention of the boy and girl inside the room. Both people blinked.

"We do?" Kim arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we do. You basically said we inspire people and they feel safe in the hallway and blah, blah, blah. So, we want to join," Bonnie declared, putting her hand on top of Kim's, the one that was around her waist. If they could make sure everyone was safe to love who they loved, then she was all for that.

Kim laughed. "I guess we're joining then."

Bonnie nodded. If they were going to be an inspiration and crap like that, then they might as well be part of an organization trying to make a difference. No one needed to go through shit because they were gay. They were probably putting themselves through enough crap as it was, wanting to be normal, probably crushing on a straight kid, and scared to tell their parents. They did not need crap from other people.

The girl smiled. "Okay. We have club meetings Mondays and Wednesdays right after school."

"Bonnie, we have cheer practice," Kim pointed out.

"So, what? This is more important!" Bonnie declared. Cheer practice would not change any lives. This was important!

Kim laughed and Bonnie glared at her. She did not have the patience right now for Kim to make fun of her or taunt her. Kim cut her a break. They introduced themselves to the GSA members — Alex and Alex. Bonnie had to laugh.

"You'll be getting your own gay nickname very soon," Alex, the girl, joked. She scratched the top of her head, mussing her short brown hair.

"Just so you know, Alex is not a gay nickname for a guy," the boy Alex commented with a smile.

"No, the name Alexi is gay enough for a guy," the girl teased him.

He laughed. "Well, as you can see we're very laid back here and friendly. We look forward to seeing you at meetings."

Bonnie smiled and Kim nodded. They shook hands with Alex and Alex and that was that. Despite the annoyances, Bonnie would chalk this up as a good day.

"I'm glad you want to make a difference," Kim said as they walked out of the school.

Bonnie just shrugged. She was not sure what came over her, but she wanted to do something about… well, something. She supposed she did not want people to feel they had to hide like she and Kim did. People should be able to have peaceful relationships without pretending they were not together.

Plus, her relationship with Kim was the best thing in her life. If there were other people like that, they should be able to shout that relationship from the mountaintops. Especially considering the stuff she had done in the halls with boyfriends, if no one thought anything of that, then they should not have problems with same-sex couples holding hands and kissing a little.

Kim grinned. "I'm so proud of this person," she commented and kissed Bonnie.

"Why don't you two do that over here with us?" a football player called and a bunch of his fellow idiots whistled. They were on the football field, practicing… or supposed to be practicing. Apparently, they had free time.

"Yeah, come on over here! We can help set you straight," Lance commented, grabbing himself. So, he felt empowered being around nine other morons.

"I dunno. All the ass-slapping and grunting between you guys, I feel like you're gayer than we are," Bonnie shot back.

Lance scowled. "You know you miss this." He grabbed himself once again. So gross.

"Oh, please. I could barely feel that." Bonnie wiggled her pinkie at him and his friends burst out laughing.

"Oh, you know you felt it," he growled.

"Yeah, ten seconds later I felt relief when you rolled off of me," she countered. His friends hooped and hollered some more.

Kim pulled her away before she just ended up going back and forth with Lance. That was good, though. It was nice to walk away with the memory of Lance's stupid friends laughing at him. If they were really his friends, someone would let him know it was not cute being twenty in high school.

-8-8-8-8-

All in all, Bonnie would say the day went well. She found out Tara was a true friend and she got to join the GSA. Best of all, she made Lance look like the jackass he was in front of people he wanted to respect him. So, she definitely did not expect the shit-storm she walked into when she went home.

"You fucking bitch!" Her father shot at her and surprised the hell out of everybody in the house by slapping her right in the face.

Bonnie fell against the door in shock. Her hand went immediately to her cheek, which throb. Her wide eyes watched her father, in case he planned to assault her again, even though she could not focus much on him because her vision was blurry. What the fuck?

"You think you can embarrass me?" he demanded, screaming down at her while pointing a threatening finger at her.

"Wha-wha-wha?" Bonnie could not even get the whole word out. Her ears were ringing and focus was still a bit out of reach. What had he hit her with?

"Rick, no!" Suddenly, her mother was on his back, but he cast her off like she weighed nothing at all.

"You think I'm going to let you embarrass me like this?" he roared.

"Embarrass you?" Bonnie echoed. What in the hell was he babbling about?

"This shit!" He turned around, yanking something from Lonnie, who actually looked frozen in place with her mouth wide open and her eyebrows curled up. He shoved what turned out to be a cellphone in Bonnie's face.

Bonnie had to back up a little, which was hard considering the door was right at her back, to see what her father was trying to show her. Staring back at her was a photo of her and Kim kissing in the hallway. And then she realized this was Lonnie's phone. Someone had probably sent the photo to Lonnie to make fun of Bonnie and that dumb-ass probably had showed their father. _Fucking idiot_.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" he screamed.

"What the hell do you care?" Bonnie demanded, staring him right in the eye. She refused to be scared of him. He was just a bully. He bullied her mother. He bullied her sisters. He bullied her. Well, no more. She was done with bullies, school and here.

"What did you say?" He glared down at her.

"I said what the hell do you even care? You don't care about any of us! You don't even know which one of us I am!" Bonnie pointed to herself.

"I care when you're out behaving like a fucking worthless whore and I have to hear about this shit at my office!"

"Because you're nothing more than a selfish bastard!" she countered and he flinched. She decided to keep going. "You think making us feel small will make you feel better about yourself, make you hurt less? Well, has it? No! You still feel like the loser you are and it's got nothing to do with us! You're too self-centered to see the great thing you have in front of you! You have a wife who's devoted to you to the degree that it's un-be-fucking-lievable. You have three beautiful daughters who you've done nothing but put us down our whole lives, hoping we turn out worse than you did. You look at us all and you hate us because you think we held you back and you can't stand to see us do well. We have a chance and you don't want us to see it because you're the one not going anywhere. You're the worthless one!"

Hearing the truth was even worse for him. There was a blaze in his eyes that she had never seen. He struck her for the second time in her life. She tasted blood this time, losing focus even more than before. For a moment, she feared she might pass out. _Don't pass out. This man might fucking kill you if you pass out. Do NOT pass out_.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, talking to me like this? You're nothing! Just a filthy dyke, trying to ruin this whole family! If you think I'm going to let you ruin all of us, you're stupid as well as disgusting!" He was shouting so loud now that his face was totally red.

"You're the stupid one!" she shot right back.

"Get out! Get out of here and don't come back until you're right!"

Before she could say anything else, he snatched her by the shirt and opened the door. She could hear her mother and her sister say something, but she was not sure what. Next thing she knew, she was on the ground and the door slammed. Bonnie glared at the door.

"I don't care!" she screamed, even though it hurt her face. "You're the one who's an embarrassment! You're the stupid one!"

There was no response, but then again why would there be? He probably thought he won. He had kicked out this disgrace of a daughter. Hell, he might even feel just a little better about himself. Well, screw him.

Picking herself up, she made her way to the only place she could go now — the Possible household. Mrs. Possible opened the door and gasped, putting her hand over her mouth.

"Bonnie, what happened?" she asked with a tremble in her tone.

"Can I stay here?" Bonnie inquired. She could only imagine how bad she looked from Mrs. Possible's reaction.

"Of course."

Mrs. Possible put her around Bonnie and this small gesture caused the dam to break. Bonnie broke down and sobbed in Mrs. Possible's arms.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Going In

Watching Bonnie in the GSA, even though they were only there for a moment, made Kim extremely proud to call Bonnie her girlfriend. Watching Bonnie handle everything thrown at her at school even more so. But, the clincher was knowing Bonnie wanted to make things safer for people like them at Middleton High. Who knew Bonnie was a social activist? How did she get so lucky to have Bonnie fall in love with her?

Despite the rumors and the harassment, Kim definitely liked seeing Bonnie blossom and rise above. It was also nice to see Bonnie's snap used for good. And, since she was Bonnie, she already had support to help her bite back at anyone who displayed the slightest bit of homophobia. The thought put a smile on her face.

 _Of course, I'm definitely going to have to get over this thing with Tara, though_. Not that she did not know that from the start, considering Tara had always been Bonnie's friend and never showed the slightest bit of romantic interest in her. Besides, Bonnie would probably need an awesome friend like Tara through this.

Going up to her room after dropping Bonnie off home, Kim looked at her phone, ready to text Bonnie. Sighing, she put down her Kimmunicator and fell onto her bed. She grabbed one of her pillows and held it to her. It smelled like Bonnie, as it was essentially Bonnie's pillow.

"One day… I'll wake up with her right next me." Kim smiled at the thought. Bonnie always thought she was the lucky one in getting Kim. "I'm definitely lucky to have her."

Grabbing her Kimmunicator, she stared at it and considered texting Bonnie again. She wanted to encourage this side of Bonnie as much as possible. She felt like this was who Bonnie really was and she did not want anyone to stand in the way of it. Of course, at this point, it seemed like if anyone stood in Bonnie's way, they would get run the hell over. This thought just made Kim smile.

"Might as well text her." It was inevitable anyway. Daydreaming would just make it happen later rather than sooner and she wanted to have some form of conversation with Bonnie now.

Just as Kim was about to text, she heard the door downstairs close. She did not think anything of it, but then she swore she heard crying. This was worth checking out because lately only one person showed up to their house sobbing.

"Bonnie," Kim gasped and practically flew downstairs. She found her girlfriend in her mother's arms, bawling like there was no tomorrow.

Kim's heart jumped into her throat. Why was Bonnie here and crying? She must have made some noise because Bonnie turned to her and there was a huge bruise on her cheek. Kim suddenly found she could not breathe and her whole body shook.

"What happened?" Kim demanded in a calm she did not feel or recognize. Unless Bonnie somehow managed to hurt herself, Kim was going to _end_ someone within the hour.

Bonnie shook her head and actually turned away, hiding in Kim's mother embrace. Kim stormed over, but her mother would not let Bonnie go. In fact, her mother stared at Kim in a way Kim knew meant "calm down," but that was impossible. Someone hurt the woman she loved for crying out loud!

"What happened?" Kim repeated, lower and calmer than before.

Bonnie shook her head and Kim's body shook even more. Who the hell was Bonnie protecting? Who would have the nerve to hurt Bonnie and then Bonnie keep it a secret?

"Was it Lance?" Kim demanded. Bonnie might not tell her from embarrassment and also the knowledge that if it was Lance, Kim would literally beat him to death. Of course, this did not make any sense. Why would Lance have been at Bonnie's house, which was where Kim had just left Bonnie about fifteen minutes ago?

Bonnie shook her head. Groaning loudly and throwing up her hands, Kim paced, feeling like a caged lion. She eyed her mother and girlfriend. She needed information. She needed action. She needed justice!

"Was it… was it gay bashing?" Kim asked, feeling a rumble in her stomach. She might throw up. Even though she was certain any real gay bashing would have resulted in more injuries for Bonnie, this certainly could have happened. After all, who knew what type of people went into the Rockwaller house? Maybe her sisters had some people over and things got out of hand. But, why would Bonnie not say something about that?

"Kimmie, just be here for Bonnie right now. She obviously needs the support," her mother pointed out.

And just like that, Kim felt like this was something more, something heavy. It had to be something deep for Bonnie to fall apart on her mother. She had not even been able to hold it together long enough to make it to Kim. The idea of what happened made Kim's blood boil. She had only just dropped Bonnie at home, Bonnie was hurt, and Bonnie did not want to talk about. It only added up to one thing.

"Bonnie…" Kim said, finding her voice a slight whimper now.

Bonnie turned to her and threw herself on Kim, practically collapsing against her. Kim held her tight, but this was not the end of things for Kim. She still wanted justice. No one could just hurt Bonnie like this and get away with it.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the Possibles take Bonnie in.


	25. Where the Brave

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

25: Where the Brave

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mrs. Possible inquired as she sat down on the loveseat. Her husband came and sat down next to her. He stared at Bonnie with a strange sort of concentration and concern.

Bonnie was on the couch with Kim, who cuddled Bonnie. Bonnie buried herself into Kim's embrace. Bonnie shook her head to answer the question.

"How long do you need to stay here?" Mrs. Possible asked, her head tilted a little and her eyes were wet. She probably knew exactly what happened, but Bonnie still did not want to talk about it, did not want to confirm her suspicions. She never wanted anyone to know how bad her home life was, even if they could guess.

"I dunno," Bonnie mumbled. It did not seem right to say "the rest of my life." She had no idea what she would do if they refused her, though.

"Do you want to tell us who did that to your face?" Mrs. Possible continued on.

Bonnie shook her head. Mrs. Possible had treated her face, which was bruised and throbbing still. Her lips was also split, but now closed with a butterfly bandage. Now, all of the Possibles, except the twins, waited for an explanation. Of course, they were not stupid. They knew Kim dropped her home before coming home herself, so there were not many things that could have happened between then and now. She knew they put things together.

"Do you need anything?" Mr. Possible chimed in. He looked hopeful, like they could fix this, fix her.

Bonnie just shook her head, but Kim spoke up. "I think we should just go to bed. I'll show Bonnie where the guest room is."

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Possible asked.

"Yeah, Mom. I think she's had a pretty rough night and it's probably not going to help if we interrogate her," Kim replied. Besides, Kim knew Bonnie was not going to answer any questions for the simple fact that Bonnie had not answered any of hers.

The doctors nodded and Kim helped Bonnie off of the couch. They ended up in Kim's room. Kim sat Bonnie down on the bed.

"I'll find you some pajamas," Kim said.

"I don't care, you know," Bonnie grumbled, her eyes on the floor. She rubbed her eye, like she was crying, even though she would never cry over this. Never.

Kim turned. "You don't want pajamas?" Her eyebrows came in close, putting a little wrinkle between her eyes.

"I don't care that he told me not to come back," Bonnie replied. Her voice sounded a little dead to her, which was weird. She did not care, so she should not feel upset over it, or at least sound like she was upset over it. She did not care. Who wanted to be in that stupid house anyway?

"Told you not to come back?" Kim asked in a low tone. Or maybe it was just in Bonnie's mind because she barely heard the question.

"That house has always been a terror for me. Everyone putting me down or treating me like I was different. Why the hell would I want to go back to that?" Bonnie huffed and then she stood up. "He didn't even think I'd graduate high school and, yet, here I am about to get the hell out of there! I'm applying to college and there's no way in hell I'd stay in that house like stupid Connie did! I'm out now. I'm free! So, I don't care!"

Feeling her lungs burning, Bonnie stopped ranting and gasped, taking in large gulps of air. She collapsed to the floor and started crying again. Never was shorter than she imagined it.

Kim just wrapped her into a hug. She was not even sure what she was crying over. She did not care and she was not going back. This worked out for her. There was no way she could get stuck in that house like the rest of her family.

"They're all trapped in that house!" Bonnie wailed.

"But, you're not. You're okay," Kim said, rubbing her back.

"I am!" But, for some reason, she kept crying.

Kim held her while she cried herself out and then supplied her with pajamas. Kim stayed with her in the guest room, lying next to her. She put her hand on Kim's hip and threw a leg over her calf.

"You want to talk about it now?" Kim asked.

"Nothing to talk about really. Stupid sister showed my dad a picture of us kissing on her phone and he flew into a rage."

Kim's forehead furrowed, moving her hair line forward a little. "How did she get a picture of us kissing?"

"She still knows fellow idiots in our school and I'm sure one of them shared the picture with her. My father's reaction was almost predictable."

"Almost?"

"I didn't think he'd…" Bonnie trailed off, not wanting to say it.

Bonnie rubbed her jaw. She had not expected violence. Screaming was always her father's thing, but he never raised a hand to any of them. He never even threw things. He just screamed, screamed until he was red in the face sometimes. She felt like this went deeper than just his reputation, like he honestly and truly hated gay people. But, whatever. That was his problem.

"You don't need to avenge me or anything," Bonnie said.

"What makes you think I was planning on it?" Kim asked. She had the nerve to try to look innocent, but her expression was too twisted for that. She could see the shadow in Kim's eyes. Dark thoughts swirled through that mind at the moment.

Reaching up, Bonnie caressed Kim's cheek, hoping to fix her face. "Because you're a hero and right now you're thinking about how to make this right and punish him. He's not worth it. He's punished himself enough. He hates his life so much it doesn't even matter."

Bonnie knew what it was like. That sick feeling crawling through her father right now. She remembered it all too well. Nothing Kim could do would be worse than that, especially if Bonnie succeeded in life. Her father would not know what to do with himself if anyone in that house actually made it.

"Because he hates himself doesn't give him a right to hit you," Kim hissed.

"No, it doesn't, but he'll never get the chance to do it again. I don't have to go back there. I won't go back there."

Kim frowned. "He shouldn't get away with this, though."

"So, what, you're going to have him arrested?" Bonnie doubted that was going to happen. While Kim had a huge need for righteousness and justice, there was no way she would go after Bonnie's father without Bonnie wanting it. She would feel guilty, even if she thought it was the right thing to do.

Kim sighed. "You're okay with him just getting away with this? You're usually all fury and everything over wrong stuff done to you. I mean, just in the hallway alone, you're biting people's heads off for looking at us funny."

"I'm just… I'm so tired of them." Bonnie sighed. Moving forward and never looking back sounded like the best medicine for her.

"Okay." Kim leaned in and kissed her. Bonnie fell asleep in Kim's arms.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie went to school the next day with her head held high. She would not let these people break her. She had a year to go before she would go to college and she would never see them again, unless it was outside where they would not matter. And, she _would_ go to college. She would become something.

"Damn, Bonnie, looks like someone tried to set you straight," a boy remarked as she entered her class.

"Why don't you come over here so I can do the same?" Bonnie huffed, but he did not move. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She flopped down into her seat.

This sort of stupidity haunted her for the day. People snickered, pointed, and had smart-ass comments about how her face got bruised or how her lip got split. She bit back whenever they tried to come at her, but still, it was irksome and tiring.

No one dared to say anything while she was with Kim, though. All of the idiots seemed scared of Kim, which proved they were not completely stupid. But, then again, they seemed to come at her, knowing she always had a comeback, so they were definitely less than intelligent.

"How's the day going?" Kim asked, picking Bonnie up after class.

Bonnie sighed. "It sucks. Why are there people in each class who thinks it's funny or good for me that I got hit?"

Sighing, Kim shook her head. Bonnie knew some people wished bad on her just because of her attitude or the way she treated them in the past. They probably thought she had finally pushed the wrong person or pushed the wrong buttons, which she supposed was definitely true. It just hurt to know people thought she deserved this.

"If… if we weren't dating… do you think, you'd think I deserved this?" Bonnie asked. She had been such a horrible, miserable human being until recently maybe she did deserve it.

Kim stared at her for a long moment. "No, and you better not think you deserved it either. You never hit anyone, hurt anyone like that."

Bonnie took a breath. "No… I think I hurt people worse." Thinking about her scars, her bruises, the ones inside, they were a million times worse than the ones on her face. Her face would heal soon, the other parts of her… she was not so sure about.

"Bonnie…" Kim looked like she did not know what to say.

Bonnie shook her head. "Don't worry. I'm fine. I just… I'm happy I changed, that I'm still changing." She felt better on the inside now to a degree, but still bothered by things done to her in the past, things she had done in the past.

Kim nodded. "You want to go get anything from your house after cheer practice?"

Bonnie tensed. Her father would just be getting home after cheer practice. She did not want to risk his fury again. So, she shook her head.

"You sure? I mean, I'll be there," Kim pointed out.

"You just want an excuse to go there and confront whoever's there," Bonnie realized.

"Well…" Kim rolled her eyes. "Okay, yes, that had maybe crossed my mind, maybe!" She threw her hands up. "Don't you want to?"

"I said everything I needed to say last night. I don't want to bother with them." She was out. She was free and that was the only thing that mattered. "How long do you think your parents will let me stay with you?"

"As long as necessary, but you don't think your parents will ask you back?"

Bonnie sighed. "Even if they did, I don't think I would go back. I'd rather move into our cabin and live by myself before going back into that house." She might be able to do that if the Possibles ever wanted her gone.

Kim sighed. "I know there's a lot of yelling, but was it… I mean, he never…"

Bonnie shook her head. "Up until yesterday he had always been all bark and no bite. Well, no physical bite. Look, let's just go to practice and stop by the GSA and go home. I don't want to think about this anymore."

Kim nodded and did just that. The subject was dropped thankfully. Bonnie hoped she did not have to think about it for a while. Of course, it became a little obvious that they would have to think about it because she did not have any clothes at the Possible house. She borrowed some from Kim for today, but she could not do that indefinitely.

"You okay?" Kim asked, as they strolled home. They held hands.

"Yeah. I think I just need some time to get my head together." There were so many things to think about that she did not want to think about, but needed to.

"You want to go to your spot?"

Bonnie nodded. "Do you mind if I go alone first?"

Kim frowned a little. "I don't like the idea of you being out there by yourself. I mean, what if some idiot finds you out there?"

Bonnie wanted to argue, but Kim was right. Her father and their school proved there were plenty of morons around the town. She did not want to chance someone finding her alone on a hidden cliff in the middle of the woods. Better safe than sorry.

They went to the spot and Kim sat back by the rocks, giving Bonnie the illusion she was alone. Bonnie sat on the edge, staring down at Middleton. It looked like the same old town. Larger than most people would think, but small as she tended to think of it. Coming out had the result she had always assumed it would, but she refused to accept it. She would fight against the idiotic assholes at school, she would not let her father beat her down, and she would become something in life.

"Yeah," she muttered to herself and then she climbed to her feet. No one and nothing would stop her. This was not even a setback. This was a step forward. "This is my life and I'm going to make something of it," she stated, holding her chin up high.

"Ready to go already?" Kim asked, as Bonnie turned to her.

"I am. I'm not going to let this break me because this isn't the end. This is the beginning. This is the beginning of me making my life the way I want it. So, I want to go home, get my stuff, and then fill out college applications with you. I want to go to school and build up the GSA to be something more than a 'we have one of those' clubs and then I want to graduate and go to college with you and be happy," Bonnie declared.

Kim smiled. "Sounds reasonable." She took Bonnie's hand and then leaned over, kissing her gently on the lips.

"I thought so, too." Apparently, it was not as much to think about as she assumed.

"Okay, so, let's go home and put our stuff down and then we'll go to your house for your stuff. We can take the car. Everything should fit."

Bonnie nodded and they were off. They did not get to go through with that plan, though. When they got to the Possible household, there was a surprise waiting for them.

"Sonni?" Bonnie gasped, seeing her aunt in the Possible living room.

Sonni smiled until she really saw Bonnie. "Oh, my god! That pig actually hit you? Lonnie said he had, but I thought she was exaggerating." She rushed over to see Bonnie's face. She put her hand to Bonnie's chin.

"It's okay." Bonnie pulled her face away. "What are you doing here?"

Sonni scoffed. "What do you mean 'what am I doing here'? He threw you out and your mother had no idea where you were. Connie figured I'd find you here."

"Connie?" Bonnie echoed, scrunching up her face a little. She would have thought Lonnie would be the one since she was the one with the pictures, but then again, she did not expect Lonnie to know Kim's name or help find her. Not that she expected Connie to help find her either.

"Yes, Connie. Lonnie called her last night in a panic and told her what happened. She called me and told me I'd probably find you here. I came earlier, but you had already left for school. I was going to get you from school, but no one knew when cheer practice was over. I can't believe you went to school with your face like that."

Bonnie shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Bullshit!" Sonni declared, causing everyone else to flinch.

"Your aunt was telling us you might be all right with staying with her," Mrs. Possible chimed in, probably to keep Sonni from having any more outbursts.

Bonnie blinked. "You want me to stay with you?" It had not occurred to her. Yeah, Sonni was cool and helped her out with plenty of things, but this seemed like too much. She had already used her aunt for so much. It would be too much to burden Sonni with this mess, with her.

"Of course you're welcome to stay with me, Bonnie. I'm more than a person you can borrow a car from, you know?" Sonni replied with a smile.

Bonnie winced and then looked at Kim, who laughed. "Sonni, that's supposed to be a secret."

"I think you're past the 'I need to look cool' phase with your girlfriend," Sonni argued and then she turned her attention to Kim. "Right?"

"She's already cool to me," Kim replied.

"I'm Bonnie's aunt, Sonni." Sonni put out a hand and Kim wasted no time to shake it. They smiled at each other. Sonni then turned her attention back to the doctors Possible. "I'm eternally grateful to you for taking Bonnie in and for treating her injuries as well as treating her right."

"Well, unless Bonnie consents to go with you, I think we'll be keeping her for a little longer," Mr. Possible stated, folding his arms across his chest.

Sonni smiled and Bonnie was a little stunned. Mr. Possible was trying to protect her. And just like that, he went from "Kim's good guy dad" to "awesome guy" in Bonnie's mind.

"It's okay. My Aunt Sonni…" Bonnie trailed off, not sure she should say anything.

"I'm Bonnie's big gay aunt," Sonni declared quite easily.

This struck Bonnie as a little funny because Sonni never said this around their family. Yes, everyone knew, but it was not something they ever said. Did Sonni say it so easily in front of other people? Would she be able to say it so easily to people eventually?

Sonni turned to Bonnie. "I've told you time and time again, my home's open to you. I know you weren't ready to admit it, not even to me, but it's out there now. You can stay at my house. Your stuff's already there."

"My stuff?" Bonnie asked.

"I went to strip your room after I found out you went to school. It was big fight, you know."

Bonnie scoffed. She could imagine. "You didn't hit him, did you?"

"Nah, but had I known he hit you and left your face like that, I definitely would've decked him at least once. Your dad's a punk. I used to shut him up all the time when we were younger," Sonni declared with pride.

Bonnie could believe that. "I'm surprised he didn't throw everything out."

"He was on his way. Look, if you want to go back home, maybe we can talk to him in a week or something—" Sonni said.

"No!" Bonnie cut her off. "No, I don't want to go back. I'll stay with you."

Sonni smiled. "Okay."

"Uh… I usually do my homework here, though," Bonnie informed her aunt. She did not want to burden the Possibles with her since Sonni had always made it clear she was there for any of her nieces and nephew, but she also did not want her entire flow disrupted by this.

"All right. Do you want me to come back for you? You can call me," Sonni said.

Bonnie nodded. Sonni hugged her and bid the Possibles farewell before leaving. Bonnie fell on the couch as soon as the door closed. She felt the Possibles' eyes on her, but she did not look up at any of them. Kim sat next to her and took her hand. They were all quiet for a while.

"Are you safe to go with her?" Mr. Possible finally asked.

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, my aunt's all right. She's always offering me and my sisters her place if our father gets to be too much."

"You just never took her up on the offer?" Kim guessed.

Bonnie shrugged. "I never really thought it made any sense to. I didn't want to get on her nerves and ruin stuff. I mean, she's always been nice to me, so I never wanted to push and have her end up hating me, too. Plus, eventually, I'd have to go back home anyway, but now I guess not. Sonni's cool. I think… I think I'll be happy there." A smile tugged at her lip. She just needed to make sure she did not get on Sonni's nerves.

"Well, if things don't work out, you're still welcomed here," Mrs. Possible said with a firm nod. "But, we hope it does work for you, though."

And the smile came from both doctors. Bonnie knew she had come a long way with Possibles. She smiled back.

"Thank you," Bonnie said.

She and Kim then made their way to her room to work on their homework. Of course, it was hard for Bonnie to concentrate. This was all so much in such a short period of time. Yeah, it was still good, but so much.

"You sure you're okay with moving in with your aunt?" Kim asked.

"Yeah. Sonni's really great, but my family doesn't do well with great. I've gotten better with her, though. She helped me with…" Bonnie trailed off. _Oh, so much_.

"With wooing me?" Kim grinned.

Bonnie groaned. "Yes, with wooing you. She's never come right out and said she was gay and no one else in my family did, but I think she suspected me. So, when she first heard about how I was friends with you and then I started asking her for stuff, she helped. I think… this might actually be best for me." Maybe she needed to be around someone beyond the Possibles and Ron who made her feel normal.

Kim nodded. "Does she live close by?"

"She lives in Middleton, but way across town."

"No more walking to school together?" Kim guessed with a frown.

Bonnie sighed. "Probably not, but you'd be able to come over after school. We could spend time together there, even do homework over there sometimes."

Kim smiled a little. "I like being over here, but we probably do need to change it up every now and then. Besides, I want you to be some place you can grow and be okay. I'll miss sneaking into your room, though."

Bonnie laughed. "Who says that has to stop?"

Kim chuckled, too, and somehow this made things all right. They were able to work then. At the end of the night, Bonnie called Sonni, who had no problem coming to get her. By the time Bonnie got to the door, she could see her aunt being grilled by the Possibles. Okay, so adorable and considerate were inherited.

"They seem nice," Sonni said as she and Bonnie got into her car, one of three.

"They're great," Bonnie replied.

"I'm happy you could go to them, but I'm more happy you're coming with me."

Bonnie nodded. "Thanks for coming to get me."

"Of course. I don't understand how you girls survived in that house as long as you have. It's sad that Staci let this happen. She almost let that idiot ruin three bright girls."

Bonnie scoffed. "Lonnie's bright?"

"Not in books, but she's talented in other ways. Speaking of your sister, she's at the house, just so you know."

Bonnie groaned. "I don't want to see her." She wanted to forget that idiot existed for a while. Yes, this was probably the best thing for her, but Lonnie did not know that and Lonnie's actions led to their father slapping her twice.

"She wants to apologize. She feels responsible for what happened."

"She is! She showed him the stupid picture of me kissing Kim! Who does that? Who outs their little sister to their father as a joke?" Bonnie threw her hands up.

"I don't think she expected what happened to happen."

Bonnie scowled. "Definitely talented in not considering the consequences and doing stupid things. I'm supposed to forgive her because she's stupid?"

Sonni shook her head. "Now, I don't care if you don't accept her apology, but she wants you to know she didn't mean for this to happen."

Bonnie scoffed. Part of her could believe that, remembering the look on Lonnie's face as their father threw her out. But, a larger part of her would never forget how vicious and vindictive her sisters could be toward her. They were cruel as a rule, so why should she believe Lonnie had not done this on purpose like everything else?

Arriving at Sonni's house, Bonnie took a breath and shouldered her book bag. For a moment, she looked at Sonni's house, feeling a little overwhelmed by this move. It was a ranch-style house with white bricks, a two-car garage attached, and a driveway. Sonni's house was very nice, complete with a pool in the back. She used to have cookouts years ago, but stopped for some reason. Since then, their family had not been over much.

"Sonni, whatever happened to your cookouts?" Bonnie asked as they entered the house.

Sonni shrugged. "I got a girlfriend and suddenly no one wanted to come around."

Bonnie blinked. "Is she still around?" It was one thing to be able to live somewhere with someone who treated her normal, but if she could see a normal relationship, a normal same-sex relationship, it would be the icing on the cake.

"No. I've been single for about two years now."

Well, that was disappointing. "What happened?"

Sonni shook her head. "Adult problems. Nothing to worry about. I want you to get comfortable here."

Bonnie nodded and noticed her sisters in the living room. She took a breath and Sonni patted her on the shoulder. Sighing, Bonnie marched into the sunken living room and settled on the end of the sofa opposite her sisters. Lonnie and Connie were sort of huddled together, like a team, like always. They gasped when they saw her, but did not say anything. She did not say anything. So, they just sat there for a long while.

"So?" Bonnie pressed. She had things to do, like moving in and finding out what room Sonni wanted her to have. She would need to find out Sonni's rules and expectations, too. No need to get kicked out of yet another house.

Lonnie opened her mouth, but closed it. Connie shoved her with her shoulder. Lonnie glared at Connie and then turned her attention back to Bonnie.

"I'm sorry," Lonnie said.

"Sorry for what?" Bonnie demanded. "For all the terror and damage you've caused me over the years? Getting me thrown out of the house? Making light of my relationship? What happened to my face? What exactly are you sorry for?"

Lonnie flinched. "I didn't think…"

Of course she did not think. She never did. "You didn't think what? Dad wouldn't get your little joke? That he'd slap the shit out of me? What?" Bonnie's voice raised. How dare her sister sit there and act all shy now? She would bet Lonnie was not shy when she was showing that picture around.

"Lonnie," Connie said, in a sort of scolding manner.

Lonnie sighed. "I didn't think point blank. I don't know what I was doing, but I didn't mean for you to get kicked out. I definitely didn't mean for him to hit you. I don't know what I was doing."

Bonnie shook her head. "That's your defense? You didn't know what you were doing? You didn't think? I'm supposed to believe that? For my entire life, your mission have been to make me miserable, to torment me, and make sure I knew I was worthless! Now, I'm supposed to believe you didn't know what you were doing?" Her voice boomed as she rose to her feet. Her heart pounded in her chest as she glared at some of the evilest people she ever met as far as she was concerned. "Really?"

Her sisters flinched. Sonni came in, saving the day. She put an arm around Bonnie, which helped calm her down.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room," Sonni said. Bonnie nodded.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie's room in Sonni's house was bigger than the one at her father's house. It was comfortable and felt welcoming. It did not seem like a hiding space, like her old room. She felt… safe here, even when Sonni walked away, wanting her to get familiar with the space. Sitting on the floor, she stared at the ceiling for a while until a knock at the open door caught her attention. Connie stood in the doorway.

"She didn't mean for it to go this far, you know," Connie said.

Bonnie scoffed. "Even if she didn't, it did."

"This is true. She called me in tears after he threw you out, you know? She didn't know he'd react like that and she was so scared."

"Why, because he's such a reasonable guy?" Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"No, because she doesn't think, like she said. You know Lonnie couldn't fathom the consequences of something _this_ big."

Lonnie's pouting face appeared. "I really didn't."

Bonnie sighed. "You might as well come in."

Her older sisters entered the room and did something odd, they cuddled her. She was not sure when they last touched her, let alone embraced her. It felt weird, but a good weird. _Maybe I'm not the only one changing_.

"A few years ago, Dad found me in bed with a guy," Lonnie said. "He flipped, you know? But, nothing like what he did to you. I guess, in my head, if he didn't hit me when I was in bed with a guy, why would he do that to you over a picture? Just a picture of you kissing a girl."

Bonnie sighed and shook her head. "I think he just needed the excuse."

"No, it was more than that. He could've used finding Lonnie in bed as an excuse and he didn't. This was more than that to him," Connie argued.

"No, because to him, Lonnie was just doing what he believes she does. I'm sure if he caught me in bed with a boy, too, he wouldn't have hit me. But, I'm not excusing what he did. He's a jerk full of anger over made up grievances and blames us for everything wrong in his life. I know that and I know we learned it from him. Misery loves company, so I guess in that way, we love each other," Bonnie remarked.

Her sisters did not argue it. Lonnie probably did not get it. Connie just sort of gave her a look, but they all remained huddled together. This was the first time Bonnie actually felt like she was a part of this team.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Dare to Tread

Watching Bonnie leave with her aunt was hard, but Kim knew it was the right thing to do. As soon as she shut the door, she turned to her parents. They all just quietly stared at each other.

"Kim, don't do it," her mother eventually said.

"Mom, you saw her face!" Kim growled.

"Yes, I saw her face, which is why I know what you think you're going to do, but you better not," her mother warned her.

"Bonnie wouldn't like it," her father chimed in.

Kim ground her teeth together. How did her father know Bonnie would not like it? Maybe it was just that obvious. Still, Kim wanted to go over to Bonnie's house and just beat the crap out of the man while screaming at him over what he did to Bonnie, not just last night, but in general.

"I'm supposed to protect her, okay? I'm supposed to protect her and this happened and it happened because of me," Kim told them.

"This didn't happen because of you," her father stated.

"This happened because Bonnie's father is not a good man. He did the wrong thing, not you and not Bonnie," her mother pointed out.

"I don't want him to get away with doing the wrong thing to her, though. Bonnie's going through so much and she shouldn't have to worry about getting crap from him, too," Kim huffed.

"Kimmie, don't do anything rash. Bonnie didn't seem like she wanted her aunt to do anything, so I doubt she wants you to either," her father argued.

He was right, of course, but Kim was still burnt up. She just wanted to go to Bonnie's house and bash his face in, but Bonnie would not appreciate that. This was the same person who did not want her to beat the crap out of Lance, after all.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Kim asked her parents to change the subject.

"Her aunt seemed level-headed. We talked to her about Bonnie's situation and she seemed prepared to take on Bonnie and help with situation in whatever ways Bonnie might need," her mother answered.

"And we made it clear that if you suspected anything was up, Bonnie would be right back here," her father added, pointing down to the floor.

Kim smiled. "Thank you both for that. I can't believe you're going to bat for her so hard."

"Kim, Bonnie's a sweet girl and we can see that. I know we gave you a hard time about her, but we were worried about you and your behavior," her mother explained.

"I know," Kim replied.

"But, you bring out the best in Bonnie instead of her bringing out the worst in you," her father said.

Kim smiled. "No, I don't. Bonnie's actually just like that. Underneath the Bonnie we all thought we knew, there was this Bonnie aching to get out. She just needed someone to root for her and let her know it was okay to be herself."

"Well, we're proud of you for sticking to your guns and rooting for her," her father declared.

Kim reeled back a little, quite shocked by this. After all, they thought her behavior was horrible and they had been so frightened that she was having sex that they acted way out of character, but now they saw the awesomeness that was Bonnie. They were so comfortable with her and comfortable with the relationship now.

"Thank you for supporting us," Kim said.

"We're actually sorry for standing in your way before. Sometimes, I think about the damage we must've done Bonnie." Her mother shook her head.

"It's in the past. Bonnie's happy you're okay with her now," Kim replied.

Her parents only nodded. Kim retreated to her bedroom. Grabbing her Kimmunicator, she wondered when the appropriate time to call Bonnie would be. She wanted to give Bonnie space, but she also wanted to make sure Bonnie was okay. She also wanted permission to go punch Bonnie's father in the face, but doubted that would come.

"She'll call me if she needs me. I should let her get settled in." Sighing, Kim put down the Kimmunicator. "Bonnie's a big girl and can take care of herself."

So, Kim worked hard to keep herself busy, even though her stomach flipped and flopped as time passed by. It was not until after dinner, her Kimmunicator went off and she was able to relax some. Finally, Bonnie called and maybe all of the time in between was a good thing.

"Hey, sweetheart," Kim could not help grinning.

"Hey." Bonnie seemed a little out of sorts.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. This is just… well, a little overwhelming. I mean, Sonni's house is awesome and she gave me this great room and my sisters were here and they weren't assholes. It's all a lot to take in," Bonnie explained, sighing a bit at the end.

"You want me to come over?" Kim would not mind sneaking out for a little late night snuggling.

Bonnie laughed. "It's okay. It's not bad, Kim. You don't have to worry about me here. I don't want you to get in trouble either and I don't want to get in trouble. Sonni's cool, but I don't think she'll be okay with finding us in bed together, even if we're fully clothed, which I can't guarantee anyway."

Kim laughed. "You sound okay, but that was a really long sentence."

"Like I said, it's a lot to take in. But, I think it'll work out and I think I'll like it here. I might need this."

A smile found its way to Kim's face. Bonnie found some place she felt like she belonged. This was good.

"Okay, baby. I'm happy for you. So… what are we going to do about school tomorrow?" Kim asked. She would miss walking with Bonnie. It was good exercise, but it was also soothing for both of them.

"We can work it tomorrow. I think Sonni wants to drive me. We'll see each other in school and we can work out some details. Sonni's not going to try to keep us apart or anything, okay?"

Even though that had not been a worry, Kim felt relief flood her. "Yeah, okay."

"I gotta go. Food just arrived. I'll call you before I go to sleep, okay?"

"Please and thank you."

"Love you."

"I love you, too." Kim disconnected the call. Sighing, she let the Kimmunicator drop from her hand and she smiled. This might all work out in the end. She still wanted to do something about Bonnie's father, though. She just needed to figure out what. In the meantime, she would enjoy things. She and Bonnie were out, Bonnie was in a safe place, and her parents were fine with her relationship. Life was actually good.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Bonnie has another heart-to-heart with her sisters and Kim meets Bonnie's mother.


	26. Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

26: Somewhere Over the Rainbow

The Rockwaller sisters had dinner at their aunt Sonni's house. Dinner was pretty simple — takeout Chinese food. It was the best Chinese food Bonnie had ever had. It was just nice to have a meal with her family and not have to listen to her father complaining about everything under the sun. It was nice to sit down with people who would not confuse her with her sisters.

"Lonnie, do you want me to drive you home?" Sonni offered after the meal.

"No, no, no. I've got a friend who's going to come and get me. I don't think… I'm just not comfortable at home right now," Lonnie admitted, squirming in her seat. They sat around the countertop that sectioned the kitchen off from the rest of the house.

Connie put a hand on Lonnie's shoulder, supporting her. This was something Bonnie always missed out on. Connie and Lonnie went at each other, but they also supported each other. They were there for each other, but she always stood alone. It always bothered her because she did not understand why. She shook it away, though. This was not something she should or needed to worry about right now.

"Connie?" Sonni asked.

Connie glanced at Bonnie and then refocused on Sonni. "I'll find some place to stay."

That was weird, but Bonnie did not ask about it. Instead, she ate, went to her room, and called Kim again. She just wanted to assure Kim everything was still all right. They spoke for about an hour about nothing and then Bonnie went to shower. She then collapsed on what would now be her bed. There was a knock at her door.

"Come in," Bonnie said.

"Hey, kid," Sonni said as she entered and sat down at the foot of the bed. "You okay? I know this is a big change for you and everything, but I want this to be okay for you."

Bonnie nodded. "Does Connie usually stay here?" she blurted out.

"Sometimes. Your sisters have become quite adept at wandering, but generally when Connie isn't home, she's here."

"So, am I displacing her?" This bothered her for some reason she could not figure out. She did not want to put anyone out.

Sonni scoffed. "You've never wondered why I have five bedrooms? She's got her own room, made up with all of her things. Where do you think she goes when she had to actually do school work? Can you get anything done at home?"

Bonnie scoffed. "I can barely think at home."

"You're not the only one. Bonnie, I don't mind having any of you guys around. I know you and your sisters have problems with each other, but I seem to be able to get along with all of you, so my house is always open to all of you."

Sighing, Bonnie nodded. "So, what are the house rules?"

"Well, for you, since you're still a minor, I'd like you to be in the house by ten or at the very least call and let me know where you are if you're going to be late."

"Kim's parents are like that…"

Sonni smiled. "They're good people. You've got an amazing girlfriend, too."

"She is. Is she allowed over?"

"Oh, yeah. You can have friends over. Just no parties. I will kill people if my carpet is stained. Kill!" Sonni declared with high drama, making Bonnie chuckle.

"I don't think I'll be having any parties any time soon. My school is full of popular morons. So, the people who used to be my 'friends' aren't quite so friendly now that I'm out, but whatever. I don't think I should have friends like that anyway."

Another smile settled on Sonni's face. "Connie told me you've gotten wise."

Bonnie arched an eyebrow. "Really?"

"You might not know it, but you actually fascinate Connie. She worries about you. I guess she just doesn't know how to show it, which doesn't surprise me. You guys haven't had the best example on being emotionally supportive and open with each other."

Snorting, Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Lonnie and Connie seem to have no problem with each other."

"I think it might just be because they're closer in age and they don't have to compete with each other. They're both in their own little lane and they stay there. You, not so much."

"So, it's my fault?" Bonnie snapped and then flinched. "Sorry."

Sonni smiled. "It's all right. I know this is a lot."

"Yeah, it is."

"Take your time and get used to it. I know you don't mean it and I think Connie wants to try with you, but she's feeling her way through it. Give her a chance and just pick her brain. But, that's neither here nor there, you're doing a brave thing by being out in school. I didn't come out until after college and my parents weren't impressed."

"Is that why Grandma calls you the spinster?" Bonnie asked.

Sonni nodded. "In her mind, I've essentially decided to be celibate my whole life. She thinks my girlfriends are just friends. It's her way to deal with it. Your mother will probably adapt the same attitude for you since that's the example she had with our parents and she doesn't really acknowledge my girlfriends as anything more than friends either. She doesn't want to lose you, but I doubt she'll approve of your sexuality."

Bonnie sighed, but that was good news. "Have you spoke to Mom?"

Sonni nodded. "Only briefly. She just wanted to make sure you were okay and she swore your idiot father didn't mean to hurt you."

This burned Bonnie up inside. Her mother, who always fussed over her like she was so helpless, could not be bothered to help her when she actually needed it. "So, she's forgiving him?"

Sighing, Sonni rubbed her forehead for a moment and then looked Bonnie in the eye again. "She's excusing him, which is the story of her life. I don't know what black magic that guy has, but she's enthralled, which is why he gets away with some much stuff. I tell you right now, if he had married your aunt Sandi, she'd have checked the hell out of him long ago. Your aunt Sandi doesn't play. It's her way or the highway."

Bonnie snickered. She did not know this part of her aunt. Sandi was usually calm and laid back when they saw her. But, then again, there was typically no reason for her to do anything. Her kids were well behaved for the most part and her husband did not bother anyone. And maybe that was not an accident. Her aunt Sandi had her family trained.

"Just know you have people, Bonnie. You're not alone in the world and you're not an island. You have people you can lean on and as long as you respect me, my house, and yourself, you're welcomed here. Not just now, but always," Sonni said.

Bonnie nodded. "I just don't want to take advantage or get on your nerves or anything like that."

"Again, if you respect me, my house, and yourself, we'll be fine. You're not going to get on my nerves. I want you here. I want you to know you can be yourself. I'm not your dad, Bonnie, and I'm not going to stand by while someone bullies you either."

Bonnie sniffled a little. Sonni smiled at her and rubbed her head. "Thank you, Aunt Sonni."

"You thank me for when you borrow my car. You don't need to thank me for this. It'll be okay, Bonnie."

"I hope so."

"It will. You'll be all right."

Bonnie nodded. Sonni let her go to sleep on that note. In the morning, Sonni, clearly not used to having to make breakfast, served Bonnie coffee and a bagel. Bonnie turned down the coffee, but enjoyed the bagel. It was a little funny to see how different Sonni was from her mother. Were she and her sisters so different? She shook the thought away as Sonni drove her to school.

At school, Bonnie sought out Kim immediately. They hugged and kissed and ignored any idiots that had anything to say about it. Kim walked her to class and Bonnie soldiered on. After school, she decided to devote her energy to the GSA. Cheerleading now came second.

-8-8-8-8-

"So, these are the schools you want to pick from?" Kim said to Bonnie. They were in Sonni's living room with college brochures and applications in front of them.

"These are the ones I have a good chance of getting into. Where are yours?" Bonnie asked. Things had cooled down a little, so the couple decided to start on their college applications before anything else came up.

Sometimes, they sat with Ron and Monique at Kim's house to look at schools. Kim and Monique were a little better now since Bonnie and Kim were out and it was clear Bonnie was not planning something sinister. Of course, Monique had not offered Bonnie any sort of apology and Bonnie would not hold her breath for it. As far as schools went, Ron wanted to go to Japan for his girlfriend and culinary school. Monique seemed to be interested in the fashion industry, which could have been something to bond over if she and Bonnie ever decided to be friends.

"Everything's in my book bag," Kim answered and she pulled out her stuff.

They got to work. Bonnie knew Kim's parents would go over things with her after they sorted everything out and Sonni had offered to do the same with Bonnie. It was a nice change. Sure, they could not really sneak scandalous kisses, but they could kiss and not feel like they were doing something wrong. They could also work in the living room (at Sonni's house anyway) and not worry about being ambushed. Kim seemed to like that.

"What about these schools?" Kim held up three different flyers.

Bonnie shook her head. "Those are all in different cities and out of my league. Baby, what are we doing here? You're trying to pick a school for me or a city we can both be in?" They had agreed on looking in the same cities and towns, not the same schools.

"I think you could go to one of these." Kim smiled, like that made it true.

Bonnie snorted. "Yeah, if the whole administration's office suffers severe head trauma. Be realistic."

Pouting, Kim dived back into her pile and pulled out a few more schools. Bonnie looked at all of them and shook her head. Then, olive eyes ventured into Bonnie's pile.

"No, you don't, Possible. You're not looking at any of these schools." While Bonnie's pile was not horrible by normal standards, they definitely were beneath Kim. And the pout had the nerve to deepen. Bonnie just glared at Kim. "No, okay, just no. Focus on us being in the same city, not the same school. It's not happening."

Kim huffed, but went back to her own pile. They continued on with the business of sorting through the schools they were really interested in, and also in the same area. They got more done than Bonnie expected, especially since they had done homework first.

"We should work here again tomorrow," Kim said after they lined up all of their schools and everything.

"I guess Ron has all of his schools lined up then," Bonnie said. While Ron was not unwelcomed company here, he did not seem interested in coming to her aunt's house. He might have been trying to give them space, which was sweet… not that she would ever tell him that.

"Yeah, he knows what he wants to do, so we should work here tomorrow."

"If you don't mind junk food, then yeah," Bonnie agreed. Just as she said that, Sonni called them for pizza. Sonni could not cook to save her life.

"I don't mind," Kim answered as they sat around the kitchen counter, feasting on pizza.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm the not-cook out of my sisters. I can throw a mean barbecue, but I never touch the stove," Sonni remarked.

"It's fine. Thanks," Kim said.

"So, how's it going with the schools?" Sonni inquired.

"It's a lot of work," Bonnie admitted, more than she expected, but she would stick to it. She wanted a great college experience and not in the way most kids did. She wanted some place with great classes, but also some place that would help her figure out who she was and hopefully some kind of outreach for gay kids.

"All good things in life are," Sonni replied, smiling at both of them.

Bonnie and Kim both blushed and looked at each other. Bonnie definitely could not call her aunt a liar on that one. They turned their attention back to the pizza. The three of them could not finish it, even though they came close. Kim ate three slices on her own, which Bonnie expected because that girl's metabolism was insane. Bonnie had two slices herself.

After food, Sonni drove Kim home. Bonnie rode along and walked Kim to the door. They smiled at each other.

"You seem really happy staying with your aunt," Kim commented.

"I am. She's really cool. She's… encouraging," Bonnie said. This was not something she was used to. Sonni wanted to know what was going on with her in school, asked about her classes, asked about Kim, asked about dates, and everything in between. Never once did she have a bad thing to say.

Kim smiled. "That's good." Reaching up, she caressed Bonnie's cheek.

"See you tomorrow?"

"Of course."

They had stalled enough and leaned in for their goodbye kiss. It was nice to be able to do this and not worry about someone seeing. It was freeing. As they pulled away, Kim stroked her cheek again and she smiled.

"I really want to go to the same college as you," Kim said.

"We've talked about this," Bonnie sighed. It was virtually impossible for them to go to the same school unless Kim lowered her standards and Bonnie would never allow that.

Kim sighed. "I know, but you could get into some of the schools I want to go to."

Bonnie laughed. "I wish my grades knew that. Kim, you've had a 4.0 GPA your whole life and more extra-curriculars than anyone else on Earth. We're not going to the same school unless you take a step down and I'm not going to let that happen. Let's focus on the same city. Okay?"

Kim gave her a sad nod. Bonnie pressed a soft kiss to her lips. This lifted Kim's spirits enough for her to go into the house. Bonnie returned to her aunt's car. Sonni smiled at her.

"You're both so cute!" Sonni cooed.

Bonnie did not have a response… well, one that was not rude and out of order anyway. So, she just let Sonni tease her. It only lasted a couple of minutes and even the good-natured teasing felt nice, normal.

"You ever going to tell me how you landed a girl like that?" Sonni asked.

"It's a long story, but I think luck had a lot to do with it," Bonnie answered.

Sonni grinned. "It usually does. It's good you're trying to keep your relationship going once school is over."

"Well, I love her, so…"

Sonni glanced at her, like she had not expected that. "That's good. I hope you two make it happen. Of course, looking at you both go, I have no doubt you will."

Bonnie nodded because she had no doubt about it either. When they got back to the house, Connie was in the living room, going through Bonnie's college materials. Bonnie frowned, but Sonni put a hand on her shoulder.

"Go talk to her. She's been respectful of giving you space, but she worries and she wants to get to know you now," Sonni assured her.

Bonnie sighed, but nodded. Sonni had yet to lead her wrong, so she would sit down with Connie. Besides, she was trying to be a better person and she knew to heal she would have to learn to accept and move on. She could not hold onto the anger and hatred. So, she sat down on the living room floor across from Connie.

"These are the schools you want to go to?" Connie asked.

"Yeah," Bonnie answered.

"I would've thought better schools. I mean, you have good grades, right?"

"Now. Freshman and sophomore year weren't the best, straight C's. But, the jump in junior year should look good and I've been holding steady despite everything," Bonnie explained.

Connie nodded. "That's good. You never told us your SAT score."

"It was a sixteen hundred."

"Not bad." It seemed like Connie actually expected more of her. "And you took the ACT, right?"

"Yeah." Like her SAT score, her ACT score was about the national average. Good enough to get her into some schools, at least.

Connie's attention went back to the college material. "Have you started on your essays?"

"Not yet."

"I could… I could help. I know you have Kim, and Aunt Sonni, and everything, but I could help. I've gone through the process," Connie replied.

Bonnie was about to call "bullshit," but thought against it. Sonni had faith in Connie and Sonni had yet to steer her wrong, so she would give Connie this chance. She had to take a breath before saying anything, though.

"You can help. Sonni was going to look at the essay stuff for me, though," Bonnie said.

"We can both do it. Have you looked at scholarships, grants, and things like that?" Connie asked.

"I started, but I'm not too sure where to look. Kim thinks I should go to the college office, which makes sense. They know me pretty well there, which is funny since this time last year I didn't even know there was a college office," Bonnie remarked with a weak laugh.

Sighing, Connie shook her head and rubbed her forehead for a moment. "I should've been there for you."

Bonnie scoffed. "Trust me, I didn't expect you to be."

Connie swallowed, glancing away. "I know, which makes it so much worse."

Bonnie snorted. "Let's be serious, if I didn't get knocked around by Dad and thrown out, you wouldn't care. I don't know why this makes you care all of a sudden either."

Connie stared at her for a long moment. "You think we hate you, don't you?"

Bonnie stared right back. "Don't you?"

"Did you hate Kim when you were snapping at her?" Connie countered.

Bonnie opened her mouth, ready to bite, but Connie had a point. She was not even sure what the hell that was with Kim now. There were a combination of reasons why she had picked on Kim, but underneath it all, she always liked Kim, always wanted to be close to her. Sighing, Bonnie turned her mouth up as she stared at her sister.

"It's hard to turn off," Connie said.

Bonnie nodded. "It is."

"But, then, something inside you breaks and makes you want to turn it off. It's just that once you want to turn it off, now you have to hope the person you want to turn it off for is will to accept that."

"What was it?" Bonnie asked curiously. What the hell made Connie want to be close all of a sudden?

"There were a lot of little things recently. Seeing the change in you, seeing you striving to be something other than… well, a whore."

Bonnie winced at the word. "I wanted to be popular, to show you two jackasses I was worth something."

"I know." Connie held up her hands in surrender. "I know, but I was able to write it off. I just figured you'd end up closer to Lonnie, whatever. But, then there were these little things were I realized you were more than someone who would basically sleep with anything."

"Do you think of Lonnie as a whore?" Bonnie asked curiously. The thought never crossed her mind. She always just thought of it as Lonnie being popular, having a lot of boyfriends, and enjoying the party life. There was nothing wrong with that if that was how Lonnie wanted to live her life.

Connie ran her hand through her hair. "No, I never thought of her like that. I just accepted her for who she is. I just wish she'd make better choices and maybe this will be the thing to help. You shocked us all standing up to Dad like that. It never really occurred to us. I mean, yeah, we might argue with him and everything, but you stood your ground and you called him out for what he was. You decided you wouldn't change. It's incredible."

Bonnie gave her a skeptical look. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. Bonnie, I know we've put you down your whole life, but you've grown into this incredible person who I want to know. I mean, you're feisty and brave. Dad didn't see you coming. Speaking of our parents, call Mom at some point."

"Missing the baby she couldn't bother to back when Dad was smacking her around?" Bonnie asked bitterly.

Connie shook her head. "She froze, Bonnie. It happens. She worries about you."

"And she tells you? A lot of people seem to talk to you about me," Bonnie hissed. Why the hell did people think Connie gave a damn or meant a damn to her? Her mother should just come to her.

"Well, you're not talking to anyone and I get it, okay? Mom might not get it, Lonnie might not get it, and Dad might not give a damn, but I do. I don't get why you're so pissed at Mom anyway. When you were little, she was the one you always went to."

Bonnie blinked. "What?"

"Yeah. That's why she babies you. Hell, you know how me and Lonnie would say you got the rest once the brain and beauty was gone? You don't even realize how much shit was left over do you? You got the compassion. You got the sensitivity. You got the bravery. You got the goddamn balls. When Dad would yell at Mom, you were the one who would go and cuddle her, make sure she was okay, and try to make her feel better. Of course, we made fun of you and eventually you stopped, but you did it for a long time. I think she's been trying to get that back."

Bonnie sighed. She did not remember much of cuddling her mother, but her damaged psyche would never forget her sisters' taunts. And echoing through her mind were insults of being a baby and a "momma's girl." _Dammit_. She had allowed them to ruin her relationship with her mother.

"Is there any aspect of my life you two didn't poison?" Bonnie grumbled and then locked eyes with Connie. "Any!" she demanded.

Before Connie could answer, Bonnie stormed off and went to her room, slamming the door. Maybe one day she and Connie would have something that looked like a relationship, but for now, Bonnie detested her sister with a passion. She would allow Connie to try to make amends… maybe. Sometime in the future, though. For now, she had other things in her life to get in order.

-8-8-8-8-

"Thank you for coming with me," Bonnie said to Kim, as they entered a small cafe. They held hands, as they tended to always do now. In fact, it was so common that Tara joked about it when they were not doing it, especially during cheer practice.

Kim smiled. "No big. I'm glad you wanted me to come."

"Of course I wanted you to come." Bonnie scanned the place and spotted her mother, the reason they were there. She led Kim to the table that held her mother, who smiled as soon as they sat down.

"Hi, Bon-Bon," her mother said rather cheerfully.

Bonnie groaned, but smiled. "Hi, Mom. Please, don't call me that."

"You're always going to be my Bon-Bon," her mother replied, her voice a little lower and her eyes on the table.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and then looked at Kim. "Mom, meet my girlfriend Kim Possible. Kim, this is my mother, Staci Rockwaller."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Kim said politely and reached over to shake Bonnie's mother's hand. Her mother wasted no time shaking hands, which Bonnie took as a good sign.

"A pleasure to meet you, too," her mother stammered out.

They sat there awkwardly for a few seconds before a waiter saved them. He took their orders, drinks and food, and then rushed off. They were back in that blanket of awkwardness and Bonnie was surprised her mother was the one to break it.

"Your report card came in the mail. I looked at it before I gave it to Sonni. You're doing very well," her mother said, looking at Bonnie, then at the table, then at Bonnie again. Her mother seemed shy, which Bonnie was not used to.

Bonnie nodded. "I'm trying."

"It's good. Sonni and Connie were telling me about how you applied to college." A wistful smile settled on her mother's face. "I can't believe you'll be going to college. It seems like just yesterday you were running between my legs, trying to cook with me."

Bonnie smiled a little. "I wasn't a good student then. I don't know a thing about cooking."

"No, it wasn't something your sisters were interested in, so eventually you lost interest, too."

A knot formed in Bonnie's stomach and she felt guilty, even though she could not recall running around in her mother's kitchen. She wondered how many things she dropped with her mother over the years because her sisters were not interested or because they made fun of her. Never again.

Bonnie licked her lips. "Maybe… maybe you could come to Sonni's house and show us all a few things. We're on the first name basis with the takeout places around Sonni's house."

Her mother smiled. "I'd like that…"

"Dad won't mind?" Of course he would. He probably minded the sun rising and setting, the clouds being too white and fluffy, and the stars beings too far. And, he probably blamed all of those things on her mother.

"He's pushed everyone away and I love the big lug, but I love you girls, too. You're my babies and the reason I wake up in the morning. I don't want to lose you just because he's having one of his usual temper tantrums."

Bonnie frowned. Was that how her mother saw her father's temper flares? Just as "tantrums"? Love really was blind.

Bonnie steered the conversation away from her father. She did not want to think about him. She just wanted to reconnect with her mother. Her mother seemed to want the same, sitting there for the entire time, conversing with them. She did not show any signs of discomfort with Kim, just being a little shy, which was funny considering her mother was usually lively and social. Still, it went well. Bonnie was actually a little sad when it ended.

"This was nice," her mother said as they exited the cafe. Bonnie paid for everything, still having money from her summer job. It felt good to be able to do that for her mother and for Kim.

"It was. Whenever you want to do it again, Mom, just call me. You can call me," Bonnie wanted to make sure her mother understood that.

"Okay. I'll call you so we can set up those cooking lessons," her mother said.

"Please and thank you," Bonnie replied before she realized. As soon as the words left her mouth, her eyes went wide. Kim smiled, but held in any laughter.

Her mother seemed a little surprised by the politeness, but just accepted it. They walked her mother to her car and then watched her go. They then made their way to Kim's car.

"Your mom seems okay," Kim commented as she drove Bonnie to Sonni's house.

"You mean better than the nights you heard her screaming with my dad?" Bonnie asked with a smile.

"Honestly? Yeah. I really worried about you in that house and I worried about your mom. Yeah, she argued, but your dad did the bulk of the screaming. I'm glad you're out of there. I'm also glad your aunt took you in."

Bonnie nodded. Everything had worked out. Even having to share Sonni's house with Connie several days a week was not as troublesome as Bonnie thought. They were helping her with college stuff that Kim could not help with and they also gave her ideas to take to the GSA, which she was silently, but most assuredly taking over. They needed to do more and she did not have a lot of time to get them headed in that direction.

"Do you think it's weird that Connie's so interested in what I'm doing with the GSA?" Bonnie asked.

"You think Connie's gay?" Kim countered.

"I dunno. She doesn't really seem to date from what I can tell. Maybe she's just trying to do stuff with me. Never mind." Bonnie shook it off.

"Either way, she's coming up with great stuff at GSA."

Bonnie snorted. "Like you know. You're always off saving the world when we have club meetings. Looks bad that my girlfriend isn't in meetings."

Kim laughed. "I think it looks bad when you start running the meetings and you're not president or vice president, but you call it what you want."

Bonnie scoffed, but did not argue. They made it to Sonni's house, but Kim did not go inside because she had to get home. They exchanged a kiss.

"I'll come get you in the morning," Kim said.

"I know. Have I told you how awesome it is that you have a car now?" Bonnie commented. This car would one day see a lot of action and it had nothing to do with Kim's missions.

"Yeah, it is pretty spanking." Kim grinned.

They kissed again and then Bonnie got out of the car. Sonni and Connie were in the living room, as if waiting for her. They had college stuff for her. She would show Kim tomorrow. But, this definitely worked out.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: The Dreams that You Dreamed

The urge to go pummel Bonnie's father never left Kim, but watching Bonnie since she had been kicked out made the urge diminish each time. Bonnie was blossoming now and Kim knew it was because she went home to a good place rather than to her father. He had done her the greatest kindness in the cruelest fashion. Still, Kim could not let the injustice stand.

Eventually, Kim felt like she would get to Mr. Rockwaller, but for now, she just wanted to enjoy watching Bonnie work. Her favorite place to see it happen was the GSA. She tended to sit by the door, in case she had to leave, and did not get too much into the mix. Bonnie had already taken off, so it would do not well for her to jump in too. They might get kicked out.

"Look, all I'm saying is if we want to normalize our relationships and also raise awareness, we need to be out there. We have to do stuff," Bonnie said. "Let's throw some events. A movie night, a carnival, a talent show. Something. We can't just sit here all day looking at each other."

Alex, the boy, stared at Bonnie. "How does that raise awareness?"

"It puts us out there. We don't have to do something 'gay.' Just something that reminds people we're here," Bonnie argued.

For the past couple of meetings, Bonnie had been urging the club to put together an event. Most of the popular clubs always did things to include other students and get new members. The GSA did not, mostly because they were not sure what they could do. Kim would have made suggestions, but Bonnie had this.

What Kim had done was mention to Tara they could use the support, so Tara popped up at meetings every now and then. She even dragged Josh with her on occasion. Ron and Monique showed up. Felix had even come in a couple of times. If Bonnie could get the club to do more, all of those people had also promised to help, not that Monique said that to Bonnie. While Monique had no problem apologizing to Kim, she still seemed determined to be at odds with Bonnie for some reason.

"Look, let's do something simple. We could have a poetry slam or something. In between readings, we could have someone go up and read a poem from an LGBTQ artist or a theme from the community. Something. It's better than nothing," Bonnie insisted.

There were less than dozen members of the club and they agreed with Bonnie… if the murmuring meant anything. They were a shy bunch, but had gotten a little more vocal with Bonnie's big mouth around. Once they agreed, Bonnie was the one who took charge of setting it all up. Kim, Ron, and Tara helped, of course. Josh made posters and Kim had to ask Monique to do things behind the scenes.

"Hey, what are you fags putting up posters for?" a girl asked as she and her group paused to harass Kim, Ron, and Tara.

"We're trying to get all the jackasses thrown out of school, but it doesn't seem to be working if you're still here," Tara replied, showing why she and Bonnie were still such good friends beyond Tara not caring that Bonnie was a lesbian.

"If I were you, I wouldn't call anybody a fag again, though," Kim said, making a show of cracking her knuckles. While she had yet to fight anyone over stupid comments, she was always ready for the first time. She had scared plenty of people with the thought of her fighting them, though, for slurs and harassment.

The girls ran off. Things like this reminded her that she needed to go chat with Mr. Rockwaller. She decided to do that while Bonnie had things to take care of with the poetry slam. It was time to confront the man who made Bonnie what she was, in spite of trying to destroy her.

"Staci, get the goddamn door!" She heard Bonnie's father bellow.

She wished Mrs. Rockwaller was not there, but she would still go through with this. She did not have time to worry about how this would play out with Bonnie's mother. Then, the door opened and Bonnie's mother smiled.

"Hello, Kim." Mrs. Rockwaller glanced into the house. "You do know Bonnie's not here, right?" 

"I know. I was hoping to speak to your husband," Kim explained.

Mrs. Rockwaller flinched. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I need to do this, Mrs. Rockwaller. I know this is tough for you, but I have to talk to him." She needed him to know understand he had not broken Bonnie, no matter how hard he tried. He had not broken any of these women.

"Kim, I don't want him to…" Mrs. Rockwaller trailed off.

"He's not going to hurt me."

"Staci, what the hell? Why is the door still open?" Mr. Rockwaller barked and then he stormed over to the door.

And just like that, there he was in the flesh. She never expected a monster, despite the fact that she knew he was hateful and evil as far as she was concerned. But, she was still unimpressed with who stood before her. He was an average, middle-aged man. His hair was thin, bald in the front, and something of a potbelly.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded, glaring at Kim.

"I'm Kim Possible, your daughter's girlfriend." She felt pride when he flinched. "Yeah, and I'm here to tell you that you tried your damnedest to hurt her, but she's fine. You didn't win."

"Listen here, you get off my damn porch before I slap you the way I slapped her," he declared.

Kim inclined her chin. "I wish you'd try. I'd love to have a good excuse for why I'm wearing you as a shoe. I'm not someone you can just push over and I don't take kind to bullies." She pointed at him. "I'm never letting you hurt her again and if you think to threaten her or anyone she cares about, I'll make sure you regret it."

He squared his shoulders. "You think I'm afraid of you, girl?"

"Rick," Mrs. Rockwaller pled.

"If you're smart, you would be, but I doubt you're smart. Your behavior and actions have proven that. Like I said, I just want you to know you didn't win. One day, Bonnie's going to come back here and you're going to wish you treated her better," Kim declared.

"Your little carpet-licker isn't going to amount to anything, just like you," he countered.

Kim laughed. "You really are stupid, huh? You don't even know." She shook her head and then decided to leave. If he did not even know who she was, then what was the point? "Just know, if you hurt her again, you'll regret it."

Turning her back, she walked away. Mr. Rockwaller yelled a bunch of threats at her, but she ignored him. He was not worth any more time or energy. Bonnie would show him.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: an epilogue.


	27. Epilogue: The Planets Aligned

I don't own these characters. Disney does.

Epilogue: The Planets Aligned

The school year went by fairly quickly and before Bonnie knew it, it was time to graduate. The year had been rough, but she would consider it her best. Beyond good grades, a victory in the state cheer competition, and acceptance to the college she really wanted to go, she felt like she made a difference in Middleton High. The Gay-Straight Alliance was definitely a more well known club thanks to her and more students than ever were comfortable being themselves. Hell, the junior class even nominated a gay couple of prom kings. They did not win, but at least the student body was comfortable with that happening.

For her, the most rewarding part of the year was her work with the GSA. More than helping people and finding a place where she belonged, it gave her a sense of peace and satisfaction that she never imagined could exist. More so than seeing Kim finally deck Lance, who decided to touch a girl in the school parking lot when she did not want to be touched and he should not have been in the school parking lot anyway since he aged out of school. Kim broke his jaw and Bonnie had to bandage Kim's knuckles. That was an amazing moment, but the GSA topped it. She felt like she had a purpose, a goal, thanks to the club.

Bonnie looked forward to being a part of whatever form of the GSA her new school would offer. For now, though, she focused on the graduation ceremony. When she walked across the stage, she looked out into the crowd and spotted her family — everyone except her father. They were with the Possibles and the Stoppables, all cheering for her, Kim, and Ron. Ron's girlfriend — Yori — managed to come all the way from Japan to see him graduate. It was nice to see he had not made her up.

It was also nice that Kim and Ron made the graduation. There had been an alien invasion and things looked bleak for a second, but Bonnie never lost faith in them saving the day. She had helped get people to safety with the doctors Possible and Ron's parents while they took care of the aliens. Middleton went right back to business as usual when things were all said and done, which was why graduation happened right on schedule.

After the graduation, Bonnie gave Kim space as she spoke with Monique. By now, Monique at least conceded that Bonnie was not plotting anything against Kim and their relationship was real, but Bonnie still kept her distance. Things were just always better when they did not interact.

Bonnie and Kim ended up at a barbecue at Sonni's house. Sonni seems all too happy to have people over. Throughout the school year, living with Sonni, Bonnie noticed her aunt did not entertain often. She did not seem to stay out late, which might have been for Bonnie's benefit, and she never really had long phone calls. She sometimes wondered if her aunt was lonely, but felt like it was not her place to ask.

Now, Sonni stood at her grill, lording over it with her father and Mr. Possible trying to take over. Sonni threatened them with her tongs. Bonnie laughed and looked at Kim.

"That'll be you," Bonnie said, nodding toward her aunt.

"Oh, I get to run the grill?" Kim grinned.

"Well, I'm the one who cooks inside." Bonnie's mother had taken great care in teaching her and Connie how to cook over the past few months. It turned out Sonni was utterly worthless in the kitchen, which was funny because she was awesome at everything else. Sort of like Kim.

Kim chuckled. "You got me there. You're doing all the cooking, right?"

"Yes."

Kim laughed again and then wandered off to spend time with Ron and Yori. Ron was trying to get Yori to join him in the pool. The Possible twins were there, too. Yori did not seem to want any part of the pool, though, which was probably for the best because she did not have on a swimsuit.

Bonnie had no desire to be near the Possible twins even now, so she looked for something else to occupy her time. She wished Tara had come, but Tara went to some lame party with Josh. She might come later, which would be nice, but did nothing for Bonnie right now. She was about to go hang out with Sonni, who was honestly her second favorite person at this point in her life. Connie held her up, though, coming to stand by her.

"Congratulations," Connie said. She held her hand up a little awkwardly, almost like she wanted to do something else, but held back.

"Thanks," Bonnie replied. Over basically living together and sort of being forced to interact because they both wanted to hang out with Sonni, Bonnie was a little more comfortable with Connie. But, it had taken her a while to stop seeing Connie as a monster.

There was a long pause between them for a while. Connie glanced over at Kim. "Don't get distracted when you go away to school."

"It's not really away." Okay, it was far in the sense that it would be a long drive to get there, but it was not that far. And Kim would not distract her. Kim was the one who always kept them both on track.

Connie scoffed. "Uh-huh. At least now you can have Kim in your bed and not worry about someone seeing."

Bonnie frowned. "I've never had Kim in my bed here." She would not disrespect Sonni like that. Plus, they still had their cabin.

A little smirk settled on Connie's face as she shook her head. "I never said here."

Bonnie studied her sister for a second and then it dawned on her. "You saw her in my room back at Mom's house." She would never forget the night she thought she heard her door shut while Kim was wrapped around her. Even though nothing had come of it, she had always sworn someone had been there.

"I did."

For a moment, Bonnie felt an old panic in her, but then something more immediate took over. "Why didn't you tell?" _Connie had me and she let it go. She kept my secret. Why?_

Connie blew a raspberry. "Because I _knew_ Dad would fly off the handle and throw you out. Besides, it was just one of the many things I was learning about you that interested me. You're interesting, Bonnie, and you're actually teaching me about life. I still want to know you. Maybe even one day, befriend you."

Bonnie sighed. "It's going to be a long road." While she might not consider Connie a monster anymore, she still did not see them being buddy-buddy anytime soon.

Connie smiled. "I know. I just want us to make it. I don't want us to end up like Mom, and Sonni, and Aunt Sandi. They only see each other for holidays and crap like that, even though everyone lives in the same city."

Bonnie nodded. Maybe one day, they would all be friends, but Connie and Lonnie made that hard for her. Still, Connie tried. Lonnie, on the other hand…

"Congratulations, Bonnie!" Lonnie squealed, coming up to her and grabbing her in a hug.

Apparently, she and Lonnie were already friends and she just did not know it. Sometimes, being an airhead worked out. Bonnie did not have it in her to rebuff Lonnie like she did with Connie. Maybe because Lonnie did not seem to fully grasp the damage she did while Connie was all too aware. She and Lonnie would never have an intellectual relationship, but maybe she would have one with Connie once they got right.

"Okay, lemme go," Bonnie begged, struggling to get away.

"Here, have a beer to celebrate," Lonnie said, holding out a beer bottle.

"No!" four female voices rang out — Connie, Sonni, Kim, and Mrs. Possible.

"Uh… Lonnie, I just graduated high school, not college," Bonnie pointed out. Never mind the fact that she used to drink quite regularly a couple of years ago, which now that she thought about it, might have been a coping mechanism.

Lonnie squinted, clearly not sure what Bonnie meant. Then, she shrugged and drank the beer herself. Bonnie and Connie exchanged a look. How was this their eldest sister? And then, they smiled. It was in that moment Bonnie realized they loved her. Hell, Bonnie _loved_ her sisters. It was not that love/hate/fear anymore. It was just love.

-8-8-8-8-

The apartment was a gift. Bonnie and Kim being in the same city was a blessing. No, they were not in the same school. Bonnie would not have been able to get into Kim's school with four years of great grades. It was one of those schools where a person had to have a lifetime of A-plus grades, impossible amounts of extra-curricular activities, and the ability to write an essay that would have made Descartes pause. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but still, Kim's school was off the charts, but Bonnie's school was good, too.

"Home sweet home, huh?" Kim declared with a smile as they entered the apartment.

Bonnie only nodded, sighing a little as they slipped off their shoes. It was home for the next four years, if she and Kim made it work. Kim's parents and Sonni were footing the bill. They also agreed to a monthly allowance to make sure the couple would not starve to death. Grants and scholarships would have to take care of school things.

"You want anything from the kitchen?" Kim asked as they went in opposite directions. Kim headed to the kitchen as always because, apparently, she ate constantly when not doing anything else.

"No," Bonnie moaned as she flopped down on the couch, as she often did when they came home.

Bonnie could hear Kim moving around in their small kitchen and closed her eyes to the familiar noise. After a few second, she felt the couch dip and knew Kim sat down. Moving slightly, Bonnie adjusted so her head was in Kim's lap. Kim ran her fingers through Bonnie's hair and then placed a cracker to her lips, which Bonnie promptly ate.

"Had a good day today?" Kim asked.

Bonnie nodded. "You?" School was a lot of work, but she had expected that and could deal with it.

A little frown settled on Kim's face. "I missed my lit class because of stupid Professor Dementor."

"I'm sure your professors will understand." Bonnie patted her knee. Kim now had to train a new set of teachers to understand sometimes she would miss class, but it was that or let some lunatic ruin everyone's lives in some way.

Kim did not say anything, so the professor probably gave her a hard time about it. Bonnie did not ask since Kim disliked talking about it when professors did that. So, instead, Bonnie turned and snuggled into Kim's warm belly. Kim caressed Bonnie's scalp.

"So, what about you? You save the world today, too?" Kim inquired.

Bonnie chuckled. "I didn't call anyone an idiot, so no."

"But, you're still not fitting in over at LGBTQ club?"

"I don't want to fit in. I want them to do more. Is that so much to ask? I spoke to an advisor and she actually directed me to a real organization not too far from here. I think I'm going to check them out and see if I can do anything over there."

"You'll be fine."

Honestly, they were both feeling their way around this new city with this new independence. Bonnie had joined her school's LGBTQ organization, but found it lacking. This was her greatest disappointment with college so far. Also, the people there were not as opened to her suggestions as the students in Middleton. Maybe because she was just a lowly freshmen from a mid-sized town rather than the super-popular senior she had been at Middleton High. Whatever the reason, she would not just be pushed aside when things needed to be done. When _she_ needed to do things.

"You'll be able to balance a real organization, school, and cheerleading?" Kim asked.

Bonnie scoffed. "After dealing with Middleton High last year, I think I can balance pretty much anything."

"This is true. How were your classes today?"

"Good. I've got some reading to do, but nothing too heavy. What about you?"

"The usual stuff. I'll have to find out what I missed in that lit class, though."

"Don't let it get you down, sweetheart. You'll be all right." And if Kim was not all right, she was there for her, as always.

Kim nodded and they were silent for a while. Kim ate her snack while Bonnie just enjoyed their closeness. It would be nice if they could stay like this all day.

"I think everyone's coming to visit this weekend," Kim reported.

"Who called you?" Bonnie asked. Whenever one of them got a call from a family member, they always assumed it meant everyone was worried about them.

"My dad. He just sounded a little down. I don't think he's adjusting well to me being gone. He talked to me for fifteen minutes about the Rocket Boosters club, reminiscing about when I was in it."

Bonnie chuckled a little. "Poor guy."

"Yeah. When we finally got off the phone, he said 'see you soon' and we both know he's not the type to just say that as a farewell."

"I guess we should go shopping on Friday to make sure there's food in the fridge then. Our mothers will probably move in if they don't think we're eating right."

Kim laughed. "They do just need the excuse."

They chuckled over that. They had no idea if it was true or not. They had barely been in the apartment three weeks, with their family showing up each weekend with tons of phone calls in between. When they moved in, their mothers went over the whole place, pretty much complaining about everything. It did not stop them from helping the couple rent the place, but it was funny. They were fairly certain those were mother hens, even if they had not seemed that way. Of course, Bonnie's mother had left tons of food for them that first time and each time since.

"Remember your mother's face when she saw there was just one bedroom?" Kim tittered.

"It was like your dad's face when he saw the same thing," Bonnie replied. She thought he was going to send her to that black hole he warned her about.

Kim chuckled. "Yeah."

"I've got reading to do. You?"

"Yeah."

So, they sat there in their living room, just doing homework, like they always did. It was a little funny that they now had the privacy to do just about anything while in the living room, they had not done anything beyond homework there. The bedroom was another story, though.

Once they were done with their studies, Bonnie made dinner. She was not as good as her mother, but she would practice. She found that she wanted to be the type of wife her mother was, feeling like Kim deserved that sort of attention, loyalty, and care. Kim would not abuse the affection like her father had.

"How do you like the chicken?" Bonnie asked as they cuddled on the couch, watching a movie together while they ate. They stilled used Kim's laptop, but Kim connected it to the TV.

"It's better than anything I could ever make," Kim remarked.

"That's not saying much."

"No, it's not. It's good. You tried some different seasonings, right?" Kim shoved a forkful of food in her mouth.

"Yeah. I think it works better, right?" Bonnie had taken the past few days to experiment with meals. She figured she should try to do what she could on her own without her mother watching her work.

"It does. I think I'm putting this in my fav column."

Bonnie snorted. "You eat everything. You don't have any favs."

Kim only laughed before digging into dinner. With her appetite, Bonnie's ego would never hurt when it came to cooking. Kim handled their dishes when they were done. It was all domestic and Bonnie loved it.

She had only been able to live in a calm household for ten months, in Sonni's house. And she had only really experienced a calm household before that when she went to Kim's house. This was how she wanted to live, though. A serene environment where things could be discussed and even arguments could be civil. She did not understand why her father never seemed to want that. Why did he seem to _want_ to be angry all the time at every single thing?

"You okay?" Kim asked, coming up behind Bonnie, who was standing by their dresser. They were about to go to bed.

"Yeah. I just zoned out for a second," Bonnie replied, glancing at Kim.

"What are you thinking about?"

"My dad," Bonnie answered before she realized it.

Kim gently turned Bonnie to her and studied her. "You okay?"

Bonnie smiled and nodded. "Fine. I was just wondering why he would want to live in a house full of chaos. I mean, I love how we're living with each other and I really enjoyed living with my aunt, even with Connie there. Everything just flows. I don't understand why he wouldn't want that. I love it."

"Sometimes, people are weird," Kim replied and that was enough for Bonnie.

"Yes, they are. Hey, I want to try something," Bonnie suddenly said.

Kim's brow furrowed. "What?"

"Let's go have a shower together." It was something that seemed like it should be fun.

Kim laughed, but agreed. This was one of the best things about living together. Bonnie looked forward to trying a lot of different things. She hoped Kim was the same.

After their shower, which was awesome, but also tricky, they went to bed. They would wake up the next day and live their lives. Hopefully, they would do it all together.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Setting Things Right

Kim liked being the big spoon. She and Bonnie were both pretty big on snuggling, but she liked being able to hold Bonnie at night. Besides, it gave her a little sense of dominance, even though Bonnie definitely held that title when it came to sex with them. Kim was still learning and Bonnie was eager to teach.

Beyond that, Kim liked holding Bonnie because she knew it made Bonnie feel safe and secure, which would always be important. She learned early on that when Bonnie had nightmares, if she held Bonnie tight and caressed her stomach, it silenced Bonnie's demons and allowed her to rest peacefully for the night.

"What's on your mind?" Bonnie asked, turning just enough to see Kim as well as she could in the dark.

"Nothing. Just enjoying holding you," Kim answered.

Bonnie turned around kissed Kim. Her hand wandered down to Kim's pajama shorts, playing at the waistband. Kim resisted the urge to rock into Bonnie's hand. If she was not careful, she would definitely get addicted and enthralled by Bonnie.

"I like you holding me," Bonnie said, giving Kim another kiss.

"I want to spend my life holding you." Kim wanted to build a life with Bonnie.

"I want to spend my life being held by you, making a home with you, and making a life with you."

Kim could not help grinning. She wanted all of that. Never would she have imagined Bonnie was her soul mate just three years ago, but now she could not see life moving forward without Bonnie.

"I love you so much, Bonnie. I'm so happy you came into my life," Kim said.

Bonnie was already asleep, though. Kim kissed her forehead and smiled as she settled into her pillow. She would tell Bonnie again in the morning, and beyond.

-8-8-8-8-

The End.

Thanks for reading. I hope everyone enjoyed the story. Please, if you like my work, go check out my books available on Amazon, under the name S.L. Kassidy. Back to my padded cell with me. Thanks again. Hasta…


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